The government has today announced the first successful wave of bids to a £15million fund to improve the care and facilities available for individuals suffering a mental health crisis.
The Department of Health have said £6.1million of this fund will be awarded to 41 programmes across England, to ensure all those in need have access to improved mental health.
The fund will allow more safe havens for those with mental ill health to be created, and for existing sites to be refurbished.
The money is expected to ensure individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, who haven’t committed a crime, are not placed in a police cell.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “This government is committed to ending the scandal of people in crisis being locked up in police cells.
“When a person is experiencing a mental health crisis they need the right care, in the right place and at the right time. We are fully committed to improving mental health services across the country and these projects will help support people at a crucial time.”
The first wave of bids, totalling £6.1million, has been awarded to 15 NHS trusts and partnership organisations covering 10 police force areas.
The monies are to be focused in areas where use of police cells as a place of safety has previously been amongst the highest in the country.
The full list of successful wave one bids covers Avon and Somerset, Cleveland, Derbyshire, Devon and Cornwall, Essex, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Sussex, West Yorkshire, and Wiltshire police force areas.
The funding will see the construction of new section 136 suites, crisis cafés, triage vehicles and places of safety for children and young people.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “We have seen good progress on our manifesto commitment to reduce the use of cells, with numbers dropping by 32 per cent across England and Wales in just one year. But there is still more to do, and the 41 projects announced today will provide vital facilities for those in crisis to ensure they get the compassionate care and support they need.
“The police should never be the default response for someone experiencing a mental health crisis.
“We are going further, bringing important changes to legislation through the Policing and Crime Bill to ensure that police cells are only used as a place of safety for adults in exceptional circumstances, and will ban their use altogether for under 18s.”
The government has also opened the bidding process for the remaining £8.9 million of funding to the rest of England.
Through local Crisis Care Concordat groups, organisations including mental health trusts, clinical commissioning groups, police forces, local authorities and the voluntary and community sector can bid for the funding.
