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You are here: Home / Archives for Mental Health Act

Mental Health Act

Government must do far more to co-produce mental health reforms, minister is told by disabled campaigners

By John Pring on 16th April 2026 Category: Human Rights

Government must do far more to co-produce mental health reforms, minister is told by disabled campaigners
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The government has been told to do far more to place people with learning difficulties and autistic people at the heart of its controversial Mental Health Act reforms. A disabled-led network of organisations has written to mental health minister Baroness Merron, […]

New Mental Health Act ‘offers no solution’ to abuse, exclusion and racism in mental health system

By John Pring on 6th January 2026 Category: Human Rights

New Mental Health Act ‘offers no solution’ to abuse, exclusion and racism in mental health system
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Controversial government legislation that has now become law provides no solution to the culture of abuse, neglect and exclusion within the mental health system, or its continued structural racism, say disabled campaigners. The mental health bill received royal assent on 18 […]

Mental health bill ‘will not stop us being locked up’, say disabled activists

By John Pring on 7th November 2024 Category: Human Rights

Mental health bill ‘will not stop us being locked up’, say disabled activists
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A long-awaited new mental health bill falls far short of the fundamental reforms needed to ensure full human rights for disabled people, and will not stop them being subjected to forcible detention and degrading treatment, activists have warned. The government yesterday […]

King’s speech ‘shows a government failing to prioritise disabled people’

By John Pring on 9th November 2023 Category: Politics

King’s speech ‘shows a government failing to prioritise disabled people’
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The government has failed to include any proposals to address the inequality faced by disabled people in its list of legislation that it plans to introduce over the next year. In what is likely to be the last king’s speech before […]

DWP’s ‘shocking’ refusal to allow benefit appeal for woman who was sectioned

By John Pring on 15th June 2023 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP’s ‘shocking’ refusal to allow benefit appeal for woman who was sectioned
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is refusing to help a disabled woman who was unable to appeal against the rejection of her disability benefit claim because she had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Dee Daniels was left “pauperised” […]

Mental health reforms ‘must go further’, MPs and peers are told

By John Pring on 13th October 2022 Category: Politics

Mental health reforms ‘must go further’, MPs and peers are told
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A user-led organisation has warned MPs and peers that the government’s planned mental health reforms do not go far enough and have failed to engage with disabled activists who have been pushing for a more rights-based approach. Mary Sadid, policy manager […]

Mental health reforms ‘could have unintended consequences’ for autistic people

By John Pring on 13th October 2022 Category: Politics

Mental health reforms ‘could have unintended consequences’ for autistic people
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A disabled activist has warned that proposed changes to the law that are supposed to prevent autistic people from being unfairly detained in hospital could lead to many of them ending up in prison instead. Alexis Quinn, who is autistic herself, […]

Mental health reforms are ‘full of loopholes’ and will ‘uphold the status quo’

By John Pring on 18th August 2022 Category: Human Rights

Mental health reforms are ‘full of loopholes’ and will ‘uphold the status quo’
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The government’s planned mental health reforms contain “far too many loopholes” and will retain a “fundamentally discriminatory” system, according to some of the first detailed concerns raised by disabled people. Three leading disabled campaigners have told Disability News Service this week […]

Disabled activists will push for changes to draft mental health bill that ‘breaches rights’

By John Pring on 30th June 2022 Category: Human Rights

Disabled activists will push for changes to draft mental health bill that ‘breaches rights’
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Disabled activists have pledged to push for changes to the government’s new draft mental health bill because it is set to retain “fundamental human rights breaches”. Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid this week published the draft bill, which he […]

Queen’s speech: Campaigners raise concerns over ‘flawed’ Mental Health Act reforms

By John Pring on 12th May 2022 Category: Human Rights

Queen’s speech: Campaigners raise concerns over ‘flawed’ Mental Health Act reforms
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Disabled campaigners have raised concerns about a Mental Health Act reform bill which the government plans to introduce in the new session of parliament. Although many of the proposals to be included in what will be a draft bill were widely […]

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Image of front cover of The Department, showing a crinkled memo with the words 'Restricted - Policy. The Department. How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence. John Pring.' Next to the image is a red box with the following words in white: 'A very interesting book... a very important contribution to this whole debate' - Sir Stephen Timms, minister for social security and disability. plutobooks.com and the Pluto Press logo.

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