Mental Health Policy Group
Mind is part of the Mental Health Policy Group, a partnership of 6 organisations working to improve mental health. The group also includes:
What does the Mental Health Policy Group do?
- We represent providers, professionals and people who use mental health services.
- We champion cross-government approaches to improve services. We support early intervention and prevention for mental health problems.
- We meet with ministers, political stakeholders, government officials and NHS bodies. We offer support and challenge their approach.
What has the Mental Health Policy Group achieved?
We've advocated on lots of issues over the last 10 years.
We demanded a review of the outdated Mental Health Act. And in 2018, the government completed an independent review and now a Mental Health Bill is going through Parliament.
We supported three amendments to the Health and Care Act 2022. These changes helped to make sure mental health is seen as equal to physical health.
We made the case for a Covid-19 recovery plan and helped to secure £500,000 extra investment in mental health support. We argued that people with serious mental health problems should be prioritised for vaccinations.
We submitted evidence to the consultation on the 10 Year Health Plan, setting out the change we want to see by 2035.
Mental Health Policy Group's future priorities
We've achieved a lot, but there's still more to do. We want to:
- Ensure mental health is a top priority for the government and high on the agenda for all political parties
- Tackle racial injustice in mental health, addressing its root causes and the social factors which influence it
- Support the passage of the Mental Health Bill through Parliament, ensuring people's voices are heard and rights protected when unwell in mental health hospital
- Ensure that mental health commitments in the 10 Year Health Plan are followed through, by engaging with the Government and NHS
- Push for a long-term cross-government strategy for mental health so that every department considers mental health in its work
- Advocate for better patient safety in mental health services, especially on inpatient wards
- See more focus on prevention and reducing inequalities
- Raise the profile of mental health social care by pushing for reform and more funding
Read our reports
- A Manifesto for A Mentally Healthier Nation (2024) – our call for the government to commit to a ten-year, cross-government plan for mental health ahead of the general election
- A Mentally Healthier Nation (2023) – our 10-year, cross-government plan for better prevention, equality and support for mental health
- Manifesto for a new prime minister (2022) – some key actions we need to see from the prime minister
- Towards equality for mental health (2019) – the steps we need to take to make sure mental health is seen as equal to physical health
- Our manifesto for the next UK government (2019) – 5 areas the government must address to improve the lives of people with mental health problems
Any questions?
For more information about the Mental Health Policy Group, get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
