Campaigning for fairer legislation

We speak out when we think that legislation is going to have a harmful effect on people with mental health problems. With your help, we try to encourage MPs and Peers to amend the legislation, or to vote against it entirely.

Mental Health Discrimination Bill 2012

On Friday January 18 2013 Peers in the House of Lords will show their support for the Mental Health (Discrimination) Bill. Officially the Second Reading of the Bill is just one of several stages legislation must go through to pass in to law. But the Government has supported the Bill and we now expect it to be rushed through its last stages and become an Act in February 2013. This is a great moment for people with mental health problems and a big step towards breaking down discrimination towards people with mental health problems.

The Government supports the Bill and it will become law in February 2013. Read our joint briefing on the Bill.

Health and Social Care Act 2012

Mind successfully campaigned for two important changes to the Health and Social Care Act in 2011/12.

Working with other mental health charities, we persuaded Peers to vote for an amendment which makes clear that mental health is just as important as physical health. The amendment has become known as the 'parity of esteem' amendment. We also persuaded the Government to protect vital 'aftercare' services for people returning to the community after a stay in psychiatric care, under the Mental Health Act.

Many of you wrote to your MP and to Peers to express your support for the amendments. Thanks to you, we were successful.

Welfare Reform Act 2012

Mind worked hard to secure important changes to the Welfare Reform Act, working with other mental health charities and as part of a coalition of over 50 charities called the Disability Benefits Consortium.

Although we still have fundamental concerns about many parts of the Welfare Reform Bill, with your help we were able to persuade the Government that:

• It was wrong to demand that people need to be ill for six months before they can apply for Personal Independence Payments. We persuaded the Government to reduce the time to three months instead.
• Employment officers must consider a person's mental health when deciding whether or not to penalise them for not meeting a work-related requirement
• It should not remove the mobility element of Personal Independence Payments from people living in state-funded residential care, since this allows people to travel, visit friends and family and go to appointments.
• An independent review of Personal Independence Payments should be carried out after two years.

Hundreds of you wrote to MPs and Peers, tweeted and took part in rallies up and down the country. Thank you for your hard work.