Scottish Government’s commitment to mental health and capacity reform: an update
The final report of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review (SMHLR) was published in September 2022 and is the first major review of mental health and capacity law in Scotland for 20 years.
The review also looks at the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 in relation to how it affects people with mental health problems.
In June 2023, the Scottish Government committed to establishing the Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme in response to the Scottish Mental Health Law Review to bring changes that give people greater control over their lives, care and treatment.
12 months later, the Scottish Government published its Mental Health and Capacity Reform Delivery Plan October 2023 to April 2025.
The programme focuses on achieving three strategic aims:
- Law reform: to strengthen human rights protections in mental health and capacity law.
- Improving support: to further embed a human rights based approach within services and wider systems of support.
- Strengthening accountability: to ensure that there are strong systems of accountability for upholding human rights.
The delivery plan sets out a range of actions that are either underway or planned up until April 2025. It will contribute to and be supported by work to deliver the outcomes set by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of everyone in Scotland — similarly to the Creating Hope Together (suicide prevention) strategy. More broadly, it will also align with the wider Scottish Government commitments to incorporate a range of economic, social and cultural rights into domestic law in Scotland.