Joint Review Mental Health and Policing

Report: 9a
Date: 29 June 2006
By: Chief Executive and Clerk

Summary

This report summarises the progress being made to implement the recommendations of the joint review of police and mental health.

A. Recommendation

That Members endorse the implementation arrangements and note the progress being made.

B. Supporting information

1. Members approved the recommendations of the Joint Review of Mental Health and Policing in October 2005. At that time, Members were informed that arrangements to allocate responsibility and agree timescales for implementation had yet to be decided. These have now been agreed.

2. An Implementation Board, including representatives from mental health, social care, the MPS, the strategic health authorities and the London Development Centre. The Board is chaired by Richard Sumray, who co-chaired the original review. This group met for the first time in February 2006 and is meeting on a quarterly basis.

3. The review 33 recommendations, including one to establish pan-London arrangements whose remit includes providing strategic leadership to the activities of partner organisations and aims to achieve ownership of shared objectives and outcomes.

4. Governance arrangements have been put into place to ensure that there is consistent implementation of the recommendations across London. A project implementation team has been established, located at the London Development Centre for Mental Health. This team is lead by two part-time project managers, seconded from the strategic health authorities and an administrative assistant. They are supported by a number of other staff, including a secondee from the Metropolitan Police Service. These arrangements have only been in place for a short time and they have been concentrating on developing a project plan for taking the recommendations forward and defining the benefits that should be anticipated as a result of implementation.

5. The MPA supported a conference in May 2005 to highlight the findings of the report. Chaired by Richard Sumray, speakers included the Commissioner, Dr Peter Carter, speaking on behalf of London’s mental health chief executives and Julie Jones deputy chief executive of Westminster City Council, currently president of the Association of Directors of Social Services. All committed their sectors to working in partnership to implement the recommendations of the review.

6. The conference was attended by 250 practitioners, policy makers, service users and carers. The day included a number of workshop sessions aimed at highlighting the challenges faced, sharing good practice and identifying strategies to improve service delivery. Feedback from the conference was overwhelmingly positive and a conference report has been produced to capture the discussions held on the day. This has been made available to Members separately and will be available on the MPA website.

7. Separately, the MPS have been developing their response to the report. This is subject to a separate report elsewhere on the agenda.

C. Race and equality impact

From the outset we have been clear that people with mental health support needs are more likely to be victims of crime and that the myths surrounding mental ill health need to be dispelled. The project board was careful not to perpetuate the prejudice toward people with mental health support needs during the review process and efforts are being made to ensure that this is carried through to the implementation stage. Indeed, a number of the recommendations in the review were aimed at dispelling the myths around mental illness.

D. Financial implications

The MPA contributed £5,000 towards the conference highlighted above. There are no other cost implications for the MPA at this time.

E. Background papers

• COP papers May, July and November 2004
• MPA full authority Oct 2005 – Joint review policing and mental health

F. Contact details

Report author: Siobhan Coldwell, Head of Scrutiny and Review, MPA

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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