Our work in parliament

We support MPs and peers to play their role in making sure everyone with a mental health problem is treated fairly, positively and with respect.

Do you want to get in touch with Mind’s Public Affairs team? Email us on [email protected]

How we support MPs and peers

Mind’s Policy and Campaigns team regularly work with MPs and peers from across the political spectrum on the issues that affect people living with mental health problems.

• We produce briefings on a range of topics including young people’s mental health, improving the welfare system for people with mental health problems, and reforming the Mental Health Act.
• We can support with briefings, case studies, and statistics for debates, speeches, and parliamentary questions.
• We’ve compiled a booklet, which sets out practical ways for MPs and staffers to support constituents.
• We can help with visits to local Mind services in your constituency.
• We can support you to speak out in parliament about your own experience of mental health problems.

Our priorities in parliament

Reforming the Mental Health Act

The Mental Health Act is out-of-date and biased. It means you can be forced into hospital, or 'sectioned', when you are most unwell - often without you having a say. We’re particularly pleased to see measures which will give people receiving care under the Act more say over how they are treated. These measures will allow a nominated person to exercise certain rights on their behalf. 

But the UK government needs to go further. In particular, we’d like the UK government to review the use of Community Treatment Orders (CTOs), which are coercive, don't reduce readmissions and are disproportionately applied to Black people.

A comprehensive ban on conversion ‘therapy’

Conversion practices are harmful and detrimental to people’s mental health. To fully protect all LGBTQIA+ people in the UK, we want to see a fully comprehensive ban on conversion practices.

The ban must include trans people. It must also close existing loopholes in the proposed legislation. These loopholes allow adults to consent to conversion practices and allow such practices within religious and faith-based settings to continue. The current proposal also does not cover attempts to ‘suppress’ a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.​

Improving benefits assessments for people with mental health problems 

Support from the benefits system can help people with mental health problems live independently and take control over their own lives. But the current process for benefits assessments is failing far too many people. 

We need to see greater expertise and knowledge in mental health among assessors. And people need to be given a choice in the method of their benefits assessment. We’re calling on the Department for Work and Pensions to establish an independent commission led by disabled people to design a new assessment process that is fit for purpose.  

Introducing early support hubs for young people

1 in 6 young people have a mental health problem. And too often they can’t get support when they first need it. But the earlier a young person gets support for their mental health, the more effective that support will be.

We’re calling on the UK government to fund a network of early support hubs across England. Hubs provide easy to access mental health support to young people who need it. Anyone aged 11-25 will be able to drop into a service in their local area without an appointment or referral.

If you need any further information or would like to meet with Mind, please contact our Public Affairs team on [email protected]