A report examined the relationships between mental health and inequalities in Scotland - including poverty, gender and race.
Source: Fiona Myers, Allyson McCollam and Amy Woodhouse, Equal Minds: Addressing mental health inequalities in Scotland, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Nov
Researchers in Scotland examined the links between mental health and behaviour in schools, and sought to identify what parents and children perceived as successful responses to behaviour they believed to be caused by mental and emotional health problems.
Source: Janet Shucksmith, Kate Philip, Jennifer Spratt and Cate Watson, Investigating the Link Between Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Nov
A report said that an unacceptably high proportion of young people suffered from a wide range of mental health issues that adversely affected family life, friendships, development, and academic achievement.
Source: Adolescent Angst, Priory Group (01372 860 400)
Links: Report | Priory press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article discussed the definition of mental disorder given in the Draft Mental Health Bill. It said that the concept of mental disorder was of dubious scientific validity: but it had a substantial political utility for several social groups who were sane by mutual agreement.
Source: David Pilgrim, 'Defining mental disorder: tautology in the service of sanity in British mental health legislation', Journal of Mental Health, Volume 14 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Oct
The Scottish Executive published (following consultation) a framework setting out an integrated approach for all agencies who worked on mental health issues with children and young people.
Source: The Mental Health of Children and Young People: A framework for promotion, prevention and care, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report (pdf) | Consultation responses | SE press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A report suggested ways in which services could be developed and adapted to meet the needs of young people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system.
Source: Enver Solomon, Lost in Translation: Interim findings from the Revolving Doors Agency Young People's Link Worker schemes, Revolving Doors Agency (020 7242 9222)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
A survey report described the prevalence of mental disorders among children and young people in Great Britain aged 5-16 in 2004, and noted changes since the previous survey in 1999. In 2004, 1 in 10 of those concerned had a clinically recognizable mental disorder.
Source: Hazel Green, Aine McGinnity, Howard Meltzer, Tamsin Ford and Robert Goodman, Mental Health of Children and Young People in Great Britain, 2004, Office for National Statistics, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
A new edition of a book provided an overview of the major aspects of the sociology of mental health and illness.
Source: Anne Rogers and David Pilgrim, A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Jul
A literature review updated previous work relating to mental health legislation and mentally disordered offenders.
Source: Jacqueline Atkinson, Jacquie Reilly, Helen Garner and Lesley Patterson, Review of Literature Relating to Mental Health Legislation, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Jul
A study found that ward-level socio-economic deprivation did not influence the onset and maintenance of common mental disorders: but local factors at the household level did.
Source: Scot Weich, Liz Twigg, Glyn Lewis and Kelvyn Jones, 'Geographical variation in rates of common mental disorders in Britain: prospective cohort study', British Journal of Psychiatry, July 2005
Links: Abstract | RCPsych press release
Date: 2005-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs and peers on the Draft Mental Health Bill. It indicated that some concessions would be made, but continued to resist some of the report's major criticisms.
Source: Government Response to the Report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill 2004, Cm 6624, Department for Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response (pdf) | MPs/peers report (pdf) | DH press release | JUSTICE press release (pdf) | Mental Health Foundation press release | Mind press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jul
A think-tank report set out a long-term vision where mental health policy was no longer dominated by measures to protect the public from a small number of dangerous mentally ill people, and the use of medication was drastically reduced. People experiencing problems would be able to access drop-in services in their neighbourhood and public stigma around mental health would have declined.
Source: Jennifer Rankin, Mental Health in the Mainstream, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Summary | IPPR press release | Rethink press release
Date: 2005-Jun
The government announced plans (in the Queen's speech) for a Mental Health Bill. The Bill proposed a new legal framework for treating people with mental disorders without their consent, where they posed a risk to themselves or others.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 17 May 2005, columns 29-31, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Law Society press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-May
The Mental Capacity Act received Royal assent. The Act, covering England and Wales, provided a statutory framework for people who might not be able to make their own decisions - for example because of a learning disability, an illness such as dementia, or mental health problems. It set out who could take decisions, in which situations, and how they should go about this.
Source: Mental Capacity Act 2005, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | DCA press release | Alzheimer's Society press release | MDA press release
Date: 2005-Apr
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that reform of mental health law was desirable 'on balance'. But it warned that the proposed legislation would erode civil liberties by imposing compulsory treatment on people who had done no wrong and would not benefit from it.
Source: Draft Mental Health Bill, First Report (Session 2004-05), HL 79 and HC 95, Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | RCPsych Press release | SCMH press release | YoungMinds press release | NHS Confed press release | Children Now report | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
An evidence review made a preliminary examination of primary data from three British cohort studies, and used the data to explore the relationship between work, non-work, job satisfaction and psychological health.
Source: M. Bartley, A. Sacker, I. Schoon, M. Kelly and C. Carmona, Work, Non-work, Job Satisfaction and Psychological Health: Evidence review, Health Development Agency (020 7430 0850)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The Disability Discrimination Bill was given a second reading. The Bill removed the requirement that a mental illness had to be 'clinically well recognized'; amended the 'blue badge' parking scheme for disabled people to ensure reciprocity with other European states; extended the legislation to cover bodies awarding general qualifications, including schools; and ensured that a landlord could not unreasonably refuse consent where a disabled tenant wished to make an adaptation to rented accommodation.
Source: Disability Discrimination Bill [HL], Department for Work and Pensions, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 23 March 2005, columns 898-965, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | DWP press release (1) | DWP press release (2) | HOC Library research paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
A joint committee of MPs and peers repeated calls for the government to amend the Mental Capacity Bill to prevent the unlawful detention of people who lacked the capacity to resist. It said the Bill remained incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, because it did not include safeguards against 'compliant incapacitated' people being detained in hospital.
Source: Scrutiny: First Progress Report, Fourth Report (Session 2004-05), HL 26 and HC 224, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2005-Jan
Researchers found that people in Scotland were becoming more understanding and tolerant of mental health problems, and of people who suffered from them.
Source: Simon Braunholtz, Sara Davidson and Susan King, Well? What Do You Think?(2004): The second national Scottish survey of public attitudes to mental health, mental well-being and mental health problems, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | SE press release
Date: 2005-Jan
The government published a summary of the revisions it expected to make to the draft code of practice accompanying the Mental Capacity Bill, reflecting amendments made by the House of Commons and other suggested changes.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 10 January 2005, columns 1-4WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2005-Jan
Contributors to a new book explored the impact of social factors - such as power, abuse, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation - on the causes and experiences of mental health problems.
Source: Jerry Tew (ed.), Social Perspectives in Mental Health: Developing social models to understand and work with mental distress, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (020 7833 2307)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Jan
A working paper said that, without serious efforts to promote social inclusion, people with mental health problems were likely to remain marginalized at the edges of society. Mental health would continue to exact heavy costs on individual lives, and financial costs on government. In contrast, progress on all indicators of exclusion promised a reduction in misery from mental health problems and could help shape a more socially cohesive society.
Source: Jennifer Rankin, Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Working Paper 2, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jan