News and stories
Commonly asked mental health questions
What
What is in the Mental Health Act reform and when will the changes be made?

What is in the Mental Health Act 2025 reform and when will the changes be made?

The New Mental Health Bill received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, which means it is officially Law. This Law will make significant changes to the Mental Health Act, but these changes could still take several months or even years to be implemented.

This is a significant moment in history, as Rethink Mental Illness has been campaigning to change the outdated Mental Health Act for many years, but can seem complicated.

That’s why we wanted to outline what the Mental Health Act is, what changes will be made, when the changes will be made, and the impact they will have.

What is the Mental Health Act 2025?

The Mental Health Act 2025 is a crucial law in England that outlines when and how people living with mental illness can be detained and treated in a hospital, even without their consent. This is often known as being "sectioned."

It also ensures that people receive necessary care and protection, especially when they pose a risk to themselves or others. It also provides rights to the people who are detained, including the right to appeal and access to an independent advocate.

In its current state, the Mental Health Act is outdated in terms of removing individual rights and failing to involve people detained in the decision for the care they receive. It also worsens racial injustice, particularly affecting Black men, and does not protect dignity or respect wishes enough.

Learn more about the Mental Health Act here.

What is in the reformed Mental Health Act?

There are a lot of changes in the new Mental Health Act focused on four guiding principles of:

Choice and autonomy
Least restriction
Therapeutic benefit
The person as an individual

It includes more checks and balances for decisions on detention, treatment decisions, discharge and the ability to consent to use of information.

We had hoped to see more on reducing racial inequalities, strengthening safeguards for children and young people and those with learning disabilities and autism, and monitoring the impact of the new laws. We will be working to try and address these concerns as the changes are implemented.

When will the changes be implemented?

The government has set out a long-term implementation plan for the new laws, so people being detained under the Mental Health Act will not immediately be affected.

The exact timelines are currently unknown, but it will be at least several months before any changes are made, and some changes will take years.

The government has said they want to ensure that the NHS and other public services have the capacity to properly implement the new laws.

The process will start with writing the 'Code of Practice', a document used to apply the law by all professionals working with people detained under the Mental Health Act.

Being detained is never someone’s life plan, but reforms to the Mental Health Act could help people move forward.

What impact will the change to the Mental Health Act have on people?

The changes to the Mental Health Act have the chance to empower people with severe mental illness by involving them in decisions about their care, improving transparency their detention, and increasing their access to advocacy.

The reforms plan to focus on dignity, safety, and systemic improvements, ensuring rights are respected, which will promote recovery and better quality of life.

As explained by Ian, from Rethink Mental Illness, when sharing his experience of being detained under the Mental Health Act:

“Being detained in hospital because of mental illness is never a part of someone’s life plan, but I hope that the reforms to the Mental Health Act. They can help us to move towards detention being a way for people to access the proper care and treatment in a truly supportive environment, allowing them to move forward with their lives.”

Read Ian’s story here.