The Mental Health Bill (2025) for England and Wales: A professional and carer consensus statement summarising concerns and unintended consequences from proposed changes to Autism and Learning Disability

The Mental Health Bill, 2025, proposes to remove autism and learning disability from the scope of Section 3 of the Mental Health Act, 1983. The present article represents a professional and carer consensus statement which raises concerns and identifies likely unintended consequences if this proposal becomes law. Our concerns relate to the lack of clear mandate for such proposals, conceptual inconsistency when considering other conditions which might give rise to a need for detention, and the inconsistency in applying such changes to Part II of the MHA but not Part III. If the proposed changes become law, we anticipate that detentions would instead occur under the less safeguarded Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) framework, and that unmanaged risks will eventuate in behavioural consequences which will lead to more autistic people or people with a learning disability being sent to prison. Additionally, there is a concern that the proposed definitional breadth of autism and learning disability gives rise to a risk that people with other conditions may unintentionally be unable to be detained. We strongly urge Parliament to amend this portion of the Bill prior to it becoming law.