The Mental Health Bill has recently completed its Committee Stage in the House of Lords and is advancing to the Commons, on its way to becoming law*. The Bill aims to update the 1983 Act. The debates at Committee Stage raised important questions about how this legislation will involve the police in mental health detentions, and the planned phase-out of police stations as ‘places of safety’. The Bill, as currently drafted, has limitations when it comes to effectively resolving these issues, and may be seen as a missed opportunity to put a more humane detention policy on a statutory footing. Especially in light of commitments made in the Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) agreement, to reduce the role of the police in mental health incident responses.
* Our briefing concerned passages of the Bill as it stood ahead of its second reading debate on Monday 19 May 2025. It became law (The Mental Health Act 2025) in December 2025.