A Modern Mental Health Act

Public understanding of mental health and substance use has changed significantly over recent years, combined with growing recognition of the links between other complex needs. Services across Wales are increasingly moving towards person-centred, trauma-informed, and preventative support. However, the legislative framework surrounding mental health and substance use has not evolved at the same pace. People with severe mental illness or co-occurring substance use needs are still navigating systems that can feel fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to understand, with legal duties and responsibilities often spread across multiple areas of law and public services. 

This is why we are campaigning for a commitment to review and strengthen mental health legislation through development of a Wales Mental Health Act. Current approaches can leave individuals moving between disconnected systems, particularly where mental health and substance use intersect. Despite the clear overlap between these issues, services and legal frameworks often continue to operate separately, contributing to delays, confusion, and inconsistent support.  

We are also calling for mental health and substance use to be recognised as public health priorities, rather than issues mainly addressed through criminal justice approaches. Already existing legislation should be reviewed and better aligned to create a more coherent and accessible framework that improves people’s rights, reduces complexity, and supports more integrated approaches to care. Reform should also ensure that the least restrictive safeguards are used wherever possible and that individuals are able to comprehend both their rights and the support available to them more clearly.

Any future legislation must be shaped alongside individuals with lived experience of mental health services, crisis support, substance use services, and recovery in general. Their insight is essential to understanding where systems currently create obstacles and where policy no longer reflects the realities people face.