Policy watch

The purpose of this paper is to provide a quarterly review of recent or forthcoming policy developments in mental health and social inclusion issues.

The author describes and comments on the most significant recent policy developments from within the UK that impact on mental health services and people with mental health needs.

The paper finds that the NHS reforms in England could cause some problems for the implementation of the new English mental health strategy; Northern Ireland and Scotland are both in a position to develop new mental health frameworks and Wales is implementing new statutory rights for mental health service users.

This paper summarises some recent policy developments in mental health across the UK.