In December, the Health and Social Care Committee in Parliament published a report on community mental health services, recommending how the government can better support people living with mental illness.  
 
The government has now set out their response, simultaneously outlining a ‘new approach’ to mental health. Our policy manager Harvey discusses how their plans measure up against our four key ambitions for how the health system can improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness. 

Delivering a 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centre in every community

The neighbourhood health approach is one of the most promising shifts in NHS thinking in years. For too long, people living with mental illness have had to travel far from home, wait weeks for support, or face hospital admission when what they needed was timely, local help. Neighbourhood mental health centres are an opportunity to change that. 

We are encouraged to see that neighbourhood health approaches will now extend to children and young people – with the government response confirming that NHS England is “leading the roll out and development of neighbourhood MDTs for children and young people” - mirroring a previous Rethink Mental Illness recommendation.

For adults living with severe mental illness, NHS England launched pilots in six areas to test 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres back in Autumn 2024. Having heard more about the model, the Committee said that it believed there “should be a 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre in every community”. 

In response, the government has said it will “consider a plan for the scale-up of community based mental health centres following the formal evaluation of the pilots”. However - there is a risk that existing services could be rolled back before that point.  

Funding for the six pilots ends this month, forcing local NHS systems into difficult decisions about their future before full understanding of their impact is known.  With the first centre only beginning to deliver services last summer, there has also not been enough time for most pilots to show the difference this approach can make. 

Where there is early data, it tells an encouraging story: fewer hospital admissions, fewer crisis referrals, and shorter waiting times. These are not just statistics. They represent people getting help before reaching crisis point, and families being spared watching their loved ones deteriorate while waiting for support. 

People living with mental illness cannot afford for promising services to be abandoned before they are given a fair chance. We agreed with the Committee’s recommendation for government to extend this pilot phase, to gather the best possible evidence moving forward. The government must ensure the future of 24/7 neighbourhood mental health care for every community.  

Ensuring enough funding for better services and a stronger workforce 

The government’s response reiterates its positive commitment to deliver £473 million for the construction and development of neighbourhood mental health centres, among other mental health-focused projects such as Mental Health A&Es.

While this investment in buildings is welcome, it raises a vital question: how will the care delivered inside these centres be funded? 

The government highlights that the NHS must meet the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS), which requires mental health funding to rise with inflation. What isn’t mentioned is that the rules for the MHIS were recently weakened, meaning the NHS no longer must ensure mental health funding grows at least as quickly as funding for physical health. Earlier this month, the government had to admit that the share of funding going to mental health has gone down again, widening the gap between mental and physical health services even further. 

The government is right to say that improving mental health is about more than money.  
However – it is also clear that without clear investment in the staff and services needed to establish a 24/7 neighbourhood mental health service, there is a real risk that new facilities will stand as ‘empty shells’ - particularly when the NHS is being asked to tighten its belt. 

Bringing down long waiting times for mental health support 

Many areas of health have waiting time standards to ensure people aren’t left waiting too long for treatment. Some already exist in mental health – such as the two‑week target for Early Intervention in Psychosis services.  

We backed the Health and Social Care Committee’s recommendation for the “establishment of national access and waiting time standards.” We welcome the government’s confirmation that “work is underway to extend these to a broader range of mental health pathways, including community mental health services for children and adults”. For people who often face long waits for assessments or support, this work is urgently needed. 

The response also rightly says that “improving access and reducing waiting times for mental health services is essential to achieving equality with physical health.” Yet mental health is still excluded from the government’s flagship pledge to bring down waits, leaving people with mental illness without a clear promise of when they will receive help. 

As with physical health, mental health needs a single, clear plan to reduce waiting times so people are not left struggling without for months, or even years, without support that could transform their lives. 

Charities and people with lived experience playing a central role in shaping and delivering support