Welform reform

The three-year process to reassess at least 1.5 million people currently claiming incapacity benefit started in October 2010. The Welfare Reform Bill has detailed measures to support the introduction of Universal Credit in 2013. Mental health needs to be a key consideration of the welfare reform process as a significant proportion of benefit claims are due to mental health problems.

The College is concerned that much of the proposed legislation is light on detail with vague definitions. In order to meet a target to reduce the national benefit bill, the Welfare Reform Bill has a heavy focus on increased use of severity of conditionality and sanctions.

The College believes this will be potentially damaging for people with the complexities of mental health disorders. The ineffective and inaccurate reassessment of benefit claimants with mental health requirements may lead to people missing out on essential support. This could have a huge knock-on effect on the already strained costs and resources of health and social care services.

Health and Social Care Bill

The Health and Social Care Bill continues to be debated in the House of Lords as Peers look at various aspects of the Bill and suggest amendments. The College has held face-to-face meetings and briefed Peers in advance of debates, and continues to work with stakeholders to ensure mental health remains on the agenda.

Former College President, Baroness Sheila Hollins, raised the issue of a need for parity of esteem between physical and mental health and suggested a specific reference to mental health in the Bill.

Baroness Hollins said, “It is time for a paradigm shift in the way we think about the health of the people of this country. When the word "illness" is mentioned, I suspect that in most people's minds there are images of physical illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and so on... I suggest that the word "illness" should be changed to "physical and mental illness" so that there can be no question about the Government's commitment to ensure parity between services for physical illness and services for mental illness.”

Many Peers spoke in support of the issue and it is an area that is likely to be touched on again as the Bill continues its legislative progress.