Mental health racial bias in England and Wales is ‘inexcusable’, says report

MPs and peers say draft mental health bill must go further to strengthen patients' choices

Ministers must use legislation to address an unacceptable and inexcusable" failure to address racial disparity in the use of the Mental Health Act, MPs and peers have said.

The joint committee on the draft mental health bill says the bill does not go far enough to tackle failures that were identified in a landmark independent review five years ago, but which still persist and may even be getting worse.