The King’s Speech: Our Response
We are delighted that today’s King’s Speech included reform of the outdated Mental Health Act to “make it fit for the 21st century” through the Mental Health Bill. At a time of rising mental health needs, and hospital failings, people who reach crisis points need a system that gives them choice, rights, and control. As a next step, it is important that a new statutory mental health commissioner is appointed.
The speech contained other positive steps to be taken by this new government. We welcome the Children’s Wellbeing Bill which will help to “raise standards in education and promote children’s wellbeing”, the Renters’ Rights Bill which will abolish no-fault evictions and improve housing standards, the Draft Equality Bill to ensure that minoritised communities and disabled people receive equal treatment and pay, as well as the Conversion Practices Bill which will ban abusive conversion therapy practices.
We are pleased to hear commitments to improve working conditions and wages, including the introduction of a fair pay agreement for social care workers. Socio-economic determinants negatively affect the rise of mental health challenges and worsen the experiences and outcomes for individuals with mental ill health and this is a step in the right direction. Addressing these root causes of mental ill health will help reduce and address mental health inequalities, and we urge the government to work closely with the VCSE mental health sector to break the link between socioeconomic inequalities and poor mental health.
However, amongst many positives, we were disappointed at the omission of the two-child limit benefits policy in this year’s speech.
We know that the Department for Work and Pensions, found last year that, “409,000 households, containing, around 1.5 million children, were not receiving additional benefits or payments because at least one child in the household was impacted by the two-child limit” benefits policy. Agreement to abolish the two-child limit would help reduce child poverty and give so many children a better start in life.
The Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) mental health sector plays a crucial role in supporting over 8 million people to live safely and well in their communities. The Association’s 300+ members provide services covering the full range of provisions, across a variety of specialisms, and take a whole-life, whole-system approach. As the only national voice of mental health charities providing services in England and Wales, we look forward to working with the new government, in due course, on the development and introduction of further measures that will improve the mental health of the population and the experiences of and services for people with poor mental health.