Reforms in the Mental Health Bill

The Howard League has been campaigning for many years for an end to the practice of keeping mentally unwell people in prison as a ‘place of safety’ or for their ‘own protection’. Earlier this year we called on the last government to resurrect its draft Mental Health Bill after the Chief Inspector of Prisons revealed shocking delays in the transfer of patients from prisons to secure hospitals. 

In 2022-23, more than three-quarters of the inspectorate’s reports mentioned delays in transferring seriously unwell men and women from prison. Limited access to secure mental health beds meant that fewer than 15% of patients were transferred within 28 days. 

Unfortunately, the last government proved unable to progress its draft Bill and so much-needed reforms had been languishing in limbo. 

In a hugely welcome development, however, the new government has now published its own Mental Health Bill and this was introduced into the House of Lords last week. Meetings involving ministers and officials are now being held and the Howard League is pleased to be at the table as a range of important reforms are being discussed. 

The Bill includes long-awaited legislative changes that will end the use of prison and police cells as a place of safety under the Mental Health Act. For people in contact with the criminal justice system this will end the practice of courts diverting defendants requiring assessment and treatment in an inpatient setting to prison when there is no hospital bed available.  

The Bill also amends the Bail Act to end the use of remand for own protection where the court’s sole concern is the defendant’s mental health. Instead, courts will be directed to bail the defendant and work with local health services to put in place appropriate support and care to address risks to their safety. 

Finally, the Bill introduces a statutory time limit of 28 days for the transfer of patients who meet the threshold for detention under the Mental Health Act from prisons and other forms of detention, such as immigration removal centres. 

The Bill as a whole is a complex piece of legislation involving an implementation period of many years, as can been seen from the Department of Health and Social Care’s impact assessment. Proper resourcing in the community will be key so that people can be moved away from the criminal justice system and into proper care settings. 

If the Bill passes, then it is expected that implementation of the statutory limit on transfers would take place in 2026/27. The timetable for implementation on the changes to remand for own protection is currently less clear, as departments are “working together to ensure there are clear pathways and provision in place to safely enact these reforms.” 

Ministers from different departments are certainly involved in the Bill’s passage through Parliament. Lord Timpson, the minister of state for prisons and probation, is leading on the Ministry of Justice side. We hope, as the legislation progresses, that there may be further clarity provided on the implementation of all changes within the Bill that impact on the criminal justice system. 

Andrew Neilson
Director of Campaigns

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