Last week’s General Election brought about the first substantial change of UK Government since 2010, and just the second of this century. The new Government’s manifesto included several very significant pledges for mental health services, and many more with relevance and resonance for the nation’s mental health and the lives of people with a mental illness.
As new ministers and civil servants start work together, and public services await their new instructions from government, there has never been a more important time to protect and promote mental health in the UK.
The new Government inherits a complex legacy from its predecessor. It has pledged to modernise the Mental Health Act, and we very much hope to see this promise fulfilled in the first King’s Speech of this Parliament later in July. From the last Government, it has the blueprint for reform from the 2018 Wessely Report, a draft Bill and the report of the Joint Scrutiny Committee on its proposals. Combining the best of these three documents will produce legislation that could make the Mental Health Act fairer and more effective.
The Government has pledged to invest in mental health services, with an expanded workforce, mental health workers in schools, and a national network of early support hubs for young people. It inherits a network of school Mental Health Support Teams covering half the country in England, and a pilot programme for hubs from the previous government, and it can build on these to ensure nationwide coverage of these vital supports.
The last Government also oversaw the completion of the five-year NHS Long Term Plan for mental health and set out further plans to expand the health care workforce. But there is a lot of unfinished business. The recent expansion of some services has not kept pace with rising demand. Waiting lists and times are rising. More, not fewer, people are facing hospital admissions far from home. And major concerns persist about the quality and safety of some services. These are not going to be solved overnight, and they will never be resolved without investment, including in the mental health workforce and in replacing the outdated facilities many are languishing within.
The new Government has said it wants to boost work and economic activity, create a fairer benefits system, and tackle child poverty. Rising levels of poverty are putting more people’s mental health at risk, and the social security system that should provide us all with a safety net is leaving too many people without enough to live on. Ending the two-child limit for benefits would create an immediate improvement for many families across the country. And longer term action to prevent child poverty, reform disability benefit assessments, and end the harmful use of sanctions against people with mental health difficulties could help to turn this around.
With our partners, we’ve set out what a cross-government plan for A Mentally Healthier Nation could look like. We urge ministers to start work now to produce and implement this plan. It will help them to achieve their mission to improve the nation’s health, and boost our economy and our communities. There’s a lot to do, but by drawing on evidence of what works, we can secure a mentally healthier future for all.
