UK government pledges better treatment of people with autism and learning disabilities

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A long-awaited mental health bill to end the use of prison cells for people in crisis and limit the detention of those with autism and learning disabilities will be introduced by the government on Wednesday.

The bill was first promised by the then prime minister Theresa May in 2017 but was kicked into the long grass by subsequent governments.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said: “The treatment of people with autism and learning disabilities, and the way in which Black people are disproportionately targeted by the [current] act, should shame us all.”

“Our outdated mental health system is letting down some of the most vulnerable people in our society and is in urgent need of reform,” he said.

The Department of Health and Social Care noted that Black people are more than three times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act, while those with learning disabilities and autistic people are commonly found to be inappropriately sectioned. 

As well as banning police and prison cells from being used to detain people experiencing severe mental illness — creating more space for police to hold criminal suspects — the bill will update the existing Mental Health Act to place a 28-day limit on the detention of people with autism and learning disabilities unless they have another mental health condition. 

The legislation aims to reduce the strain on mental health services, which are increasingly having to purchase bed space in the private sector amid a rapid increase in demand for services.

Last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that a rise in health-related economic inactivity was costing the government £16bn more per year since the pandemic, largely due to rising mental health problems.

The bill will make it a legal requirement for each patient to have a “care and treatment plan” tailored to their condition and needs, with a clear trajectory towards discharge.  

It will also increase the frequency of patients’ clinical reviews to ensure they are receiving appropriate treatment, and reform the use of controversial community treatment orders — a legal arrangement that allows a patient to leave a hospital and receive treatment in the community under strict conditions — which are disproportionately used on ethnic minority groups.

Andy Bell, chief executive at the Centre for Mental Health, said he “warmly welcomed” the publication of the bill, which was “long overdue”.

“The bill is an essential step towards modernising mental health services, but it must be accompanied by investment in mental health services and buildings so that people get the care and support they need when they need it in environments that are safe and therapeutic,” he added.