Mental Health Law approved by Assembly
This afternoon my back bench legislation proposing a transfer of powers from Westminster to Cardiff Bay has been approved by the Assembly.
This is a watershed for devolution as it is the first non government sponsored proposal to transfer legislative competence to be agreed by the National Assembly. It is now up to a vote in the Commons and the Lords, and providing they’re happy, the Order will be confirmed by Her Majesty The Queen.
During today’s debate I described the challenge of reforming mental health services as “the last great social reform” because I firmly believe that those who live with mental ill health deserve to be able to access the highest quality of help and support, and in doing so we can tackle the stigma which still exists today.
There is also an excellent article on the subject of mental health on the WalesHome site by Felicity Waters highlighting the challenge to all of us. http://waleshome.org/2009/12/the-hallmark-of-a-civilised-society/
Anyone can develop a mental illness. It doesn’t matter how intelligent, fit, or wealthy you are. It respects no boundaries, it doesn’t need to rely on a person’s physical characteristics, it can simply happen at any time in early childhood through to retirement. It is estimated that one in four of us will develop mental ill health at some point, others believe the number to be closer to one in three.
In the past 10 years the Assembly Government and AMs generally have debated big changes to how we provide services to people with a range of physical ailments, it is now time as we progress through the next 10 years to show the same vigor in reforming mental health services