The reforms in the Act respond to the recommendations for legislative change made by an Independent Review of the 1983 Act, led by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, a psychiatrist by background, and former President of the Royal College of Psychiatry.
	The Independent Review published its final report, Modernising the Mental Health Act: Increasing Choice, Reducing Compulsion 2 in December 2018. The Review identified significant problems with the 1983 Act and the culture around how it is used by professionals, and made 154 recommendations, covering both legislative reforms and reforms to policy and practice.
	The Government’s response to the Independent Review was published in its White Paper, Reforming the Mental Health Act 3 , on 13 January 2021. In the response, the Government accepted the majority of the Review’s recommendations. The Government publicly consulted on the proposed changes in 2021, and published a draft Bill setting out planned changes to the 1983 Act in 2022.
	The draft Bill underwent pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS) by the Joint Committee in 2022, which produced a report and recommendations, to which the previous Government responded in March 2024.
	The Act incorporates a number of the recommendations of the Joint Committee. Further detail is set out below.
Timeline to reform