The King’s Speech took place on 17 July 2024, marking the state opening of parliament after Labour won a landslide victory at the recent general election. The speech is attended by the monarchy, the House of Lords and the House of Commons to set out new bills under the current parliament.

This year, 40 new bills have been announced – including a Mental Health Bill that will “modernise” the current Mental Health Act. This is a broad bill that seeks to support mental health provisions in the UK, including changing how people are detained and treated under the Mental Health Act. According to the King, this bill will “modernise the Mental Health Act so it is fit for the 21st century” and “ensure that detention and treatment under the Mental Health Act takes place only when necessary”. Of the other 39 bills, several seek to reform the systems that look after more vulnerable people in society, including a Children’s Wellbeing Bill and a Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill.

Mental health charities have welcomed the news. Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of Mind, said: “Reforming the Mental Health Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. With the number of people being detained under the Act at a five-year high, bringing the law into the 21st century is a welcome first step in tackling the nation’s mental health crisis.”

“This bill is a chance to strengthen people’s rights, choice and control when they’re being treated in a mental health hospital,” she continued. “It’s a chance that must be taken to address the shameful racial disparities the law currently enables, particularly for Black people who are nearly four times more likely to be detained. And it’s a chance to ditch community treatment orders, which are meant to give people supervised treatment in the community but are too often intrusive, restrictive and fail to reduce readmissions as they were intended.”

Dr Hughes did caveat that these are “ambitious reforms [that will] will need funding and resources to be delivered and fully realised”, but added that she welcomed the “wholesale reform of the mental health system we need now more than ever”.   

Images: Getty