In the last decade there has been a 43% increase in the number of people detained under the current Mental Health Act – which raises concerns that vulnerable people are being subject to detention, including in police cells, unnecessarily.
That’s why Prime Minister Theresa May is determined to act. One of her priorities will be to introduce a Mental Health Treatment Bill to scrap the outdated and unfit-for-purpose 1983 Mental Health Act.
Theresa May and her Conservative team have also announced sweeping changes to the Equalities Act to prevent workplace discrimination. Problems like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder are often intermittent, but currently employees are only protected from discrimination if their condition is continuous for 12 months, so the law will be reformed.
Only with the economic security that comes with strong and stable leadership, can we increase mental health funding by £1.4 billion in real terms by 2020. In order to help deliver these changes, we are also announcing plans for 10,000 more staff working in mental health by 2020. We have pledged to increase medical training places by 1,500 in the coming years and to focus these on targeting shortage specialties including psychiatry.
This is all part of Theresa May and the Conservatives’ plan to build a stronger economy and deliver a more secure future for families across the country. This is the positive difference that only strong and stable leadership can make.
Unlike a coalition of chaos and instability led by Jeremy Corbyn, only a Conservative Government led by Theresa May can and will get on with the job of making life in the United Kingdom even better. And that means we are prepared to intervene when markets are not working for hardworking families.