Church Leaders Call for Investigation into Race Review of Mental Health Bill

A number of church leaders have come out in support of the call from BMH UK (Black Mental Health UK) call for the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) to look into the Department of Health's (DH) handling of the race review of the new Mental Health Bill.

The human rights campaign group BMH UK have written to the Chair of the CRE, professor Kay Hampton, highlighting their concerns over the DH's failings of the Race Equality Impact Assessment Report (REIA) report which was published alongside the hugely contentious 2006 Mental Health Bill in November last year.

Bishop Dr Joe Aldred, chair of the Council of Black Led Churches, and Rev Nezlin Stirling, chair of the African Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA), are among the church leaders supporting the call, which came after the government's own advisors officially distanced themselves from the report.

"The final document is ill considered and inaccurate and in no way reflects what the committee agreed. I was not able to see the REIA report before it went out and so was not able to check it for accuracy. I acknowledge this is one thing that the government isn't good at yet - but it is so important it needs to be done right," committee member of the REIA and consultant psychiatrist, Dr Kwame McKenzie said.

BMH UK has been pushing for the inclusion of stakeholders from the community, like church leaders, to be included in consultation over changes to the law since they were announced at the beginning of last year. However, 2006 saw black church leaders excluded from any involvement in government consultations over changes to the law.

This is of huge concern to BMH UK as African Caribbeans make up 30 per cent of in-patients on medium secure wards despite being less than 3 per cent of the national population. Indeed the crisis in black mental health is increasingly being recognised as one of the most critical issues affecting black Britons today.

Now that government appointed committee members on the advisory panel have condemned the governments REIA, as 'painfully inadequate', BMH UK are keen to see the 2006 Mental Health Bill be made the subject of a formal investigation by the CRE.

"It would be wise for us to press the CRE to ensure that the requirements in the Race Relations Amendment Act are adhered to in light of the impact the 2006 Bill will have on our communities. This is an issue I will like to see taken up more widely in order to ensure discrimination within services is address within the legislation," Bishop Dr Joe Aldred, chair of the Council of Black Led Churches and Secretary of Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs (MECA), Churches Together in England said.

Rev Nezlyn Stirling, chair ACEA said, "Dr McKenzies action adds weight to our campaign to see our concerns over the harsh treatment of black people in psychiatric care properly taken on board. It is important that manoeuvres to misinform are exposed.

"One of the major oversights of the REIA is the absolute lack of consultation with Black Churches. African Caribbean's the ones disproportionately effected by this law and yet there has been not attempt to consult with the churches one of the largest stakeholders from the community. In order to put things right this must be addressed."

Matilda MacAttram of Black Mental Health UK concluded, "Any moves to involve the CRE are welcomed by BMH UK. The exclusion of Church groups from any consultation in the changes to this law is a huge oversight in light of the over representation of African Caribbean's in psychiatric care. The Department of Health mishandling of race felled the 2004 Mental Health Bill; one would have thought they would have learnt from past mistakes."