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The Mental Health Bill (2025) for England and Wales: Professional and carer consensus statement summarising concerns and unintended consequences from proposed changes to autism and learning disability

Beazley, Peter
; 
Alexander, Regi T.
; 
Taylor, John L.
; 
Velani, Bharat
; 
Dewson, Helen
; 
Shankar, Rohit
; 
Tromans, Samuel J.
; 
Odiyoor, Mahesh M.
; 
Hassiotis, Angela
; 
Roy, Ashok
... show 10 more
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Affiliation
University of East Anglia; Northumbria University; North London NHS Foundation Trust; Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Foundation NHS Trust; University of Plymouth; University of Leicester; Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust; University of Chester; Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; University College London; Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust; Newcastle University; University of Hertfordshire; King’s College London; Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust; West London NHS Trust; Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
EPub Date
Publication Date
2025-07-01
Submitted Date
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Health and Social Care
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Abstract
The Mental Health Bill, 2025, proposes to remove autism and learning disability from the scope of Section 3 of the Mental Health Act, 1983 (MHA). The present article represents a professional and carer consensus statement that raises concerns and identifies probable unintended consequences if this proposal becomes law. Our concerns relate to the lack of clear mandate for such proposals, conceptual inconsistency when considering other conditions that might give rise to a need for detention and the inconsistency in applying such changes to Part II of the MHA but not Part III. If the proposed changes become law, we anticipate that detentions would instead occur under the less safeguarded Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards framework, and that unmanaged risks will eventuate in behavioural consequences that will lead to more autistic people or those with a learning disability being sent to prison. Additionally, there is a concern that the proposed definitional breadth of autism and learning disability gives rise to a risk that people with other conditions may unintentionally be unable to be detained. We strongly urge the UK Parliament to amend this portion of the Bill prior to it becoming law.
Citation
Beazley, P., Alexander, R. T., Taylor, J. L., Velani, B., Dewson, H., Shankar, R., Tromans, S. J., Odiyoor, M. M., Hassiotis, A., Roy, A., McKinnon, I., Zia, A., Strydom, A., Keown, P., Perera, B., Khan, M., McCarthy, J., Butler, M., Chester, V., ... Gay, B. (2025). The Mental Health Bill (2025) for England and Wales: Professional and carer consensus statement summarising concerns and unintended consequences from proposed changes to autism and learning disability. The British Journal of Psychiatry, vol(issue), pages. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2025.10324
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Journal
British Journal of Psychiatry
Research Unit
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10034/629510
DOI
10.1192/bjp.2025.10324
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
Description
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Series/Report no.
ISSN
0007-1250
EISSN
1472-1465
ISBN
ISMN
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Unfunded
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https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/mental-health-bill-2025-for-england-and-wales-professional-and-carer-consensus-statement-summarising-concerns-and-unintended-consequences-from-proposed-changes-to-autism-and-learning-disability/F40A8B1D5AC03FA8A7D6109D24D893D0