An idea whose time has come? Mental health, social inclusion and housing Available to Purchase

The Social Exclusion Unit's report on mental health, published in the summer of 2004, had surprisingly little to say about housing. But behind the scenes there has been a ferment of activity, and the National Institute for Mental Health for England (NIMHE) has been given the lead role in advancing all central government efforts to create a more joined‐up vision of mental health for the 21st century. NIMHE has taken the lead on implementation of the SEU's conclusions, and much more besides. A National Project Team on mental health and housing is to come together next year, with a wide‐ranging brief. This article looks at some of the issues that this new body will take on, including a new focus on research on the links between poor mental health and poor housing, and on evaluation of ‘housing‐based solutions’. As NIMHE itself is absorbed from April into the new Care Services Improvement Partnership, the prospects for linking housing with the community care modernisation agenda must be looking up.