Responding to the King’s speech, Andy Bell said:
“We welcome the news, confirmed in the King’s Speech that the Government has committed to bringing forward legislation to ban “abusive conversion practices”. This is long overdue, with the Labour Party manifesto committing to “finally deliver a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”. The proposed BIll must be trans-inclusive to meaningfully address these abusive, harmful and outdated practices.
We welcome the Government’s commitment to reform the NHS to ensure it delivers the public services the British people expect. Recent polling published by the Wellcome Trust and More in Common for the Head On campaign, found that three quarters of Britons (75%) say the government should do more to improve mental health services. Any reform of NHS services must ensure adequate resource is provided for mental health services proportionate to the need, and to ensure there is genuine parity with physical health.
We also welcome that the Government will seek to allow young people to flourish in work, being informed by both the Milburn and Timms review. It is critical that young people and disabled people are adequately supported, rather than chastised, for the challenges they face in accessing meaningful and rewarding work. It is vital that we move away from focusing on individual responsibility, instead recognising the wider drivers that have shaped this crisis: the changing nature of the labour market and high levels of mental ill health, stress and burnout amongst children and young people.
The first step is addressing their mental health needs by increasing the support available across health, education and community settings. We know half of mental health problems start before the age of 14, and three-quarters before the age of 24. Getting more young people with mental health problems into work requires a preventative approach that starts early in a child or young person’s life.
This Kings Speech outlines specific legislative proposals to address some of our concerns across health, education, welfare and employment, demonstrating how addressing the mental health crisis is a genuine cross-Government responsibility. That is why we are calling for a cross-government strategy on mental health, one that covers prevention and acute care, and covers all ages. It is also why we are calling for a mental health policy test, which would ensure that all Government policies and legislation contribute to an improvement in the national mental health, rather than a worsening.
Centre for Mental Health is ready to work with the Government to realise its policy and legislative ambitions and ensure we tackle the mental health crisis head on.”
