Having a severe mental illness does not just impact on the person with the mental illness – but also children in the family. Hundreds of thousands of children in England live in homes where they are affected by or are caring for someone with a severe mental illness.
This is why we are so delighted that following the amendment we put together and which was tabled by Alison Bennett, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Care and Carers, the Government has agreed to make changes to the Mental Health Act Code of Practice.
The Government has now confirmed that:
1. The updated Mental Health Code of Practice will introduce a requirement to:
- Take steps to identify children of patients being detained
- Provide information about support available for the children
- Make the appropriate referrals if a Young Carer’s needs Assessment is needed
2. There will be a question added into Advance Choice Documents about children/young carers who might be impacted. Advance Choice Documents are documents which people with a severe mental illness can complete to give directions to mental health professionals about their wishes and needs in the case of them having a mental health crisis.
"This change to the Code of Practice feels like the safety net we always wished existed. The change will actually catch the hidden carers, particularly the tiny ones, keep them safe, allow them to be children and keep families whole.”
- Helena and Christina, carers and former young carers who worked with us on the Amendment
Why this change is so important
There are two main reasons why this change so important:
1. Supporting a parent with a mental illness can have a huge impact on a child
- It is estimated that more than 10% of children in England live with a parent with a severe mental illness (Children’s Commissioner for England, 2018)
- Children with parents with a mental illness are much more likely to develop a mental illness themselves
- In the most serious cases, where children die or suffer serious harm, in over half of these cases, at least one parent had one or more mental health conditions.
The impact of parental mental ill-health on children is widely recognised. Don’t just take our word for it, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting agrees:
“I am grateful to the hon. Member for that intervention and for raising the very serious issue—an issue of increasing prevalence—of the impact of parental mental ill health on children and young people…
"As we think about children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, we also need to take into account their parents’ mental health and wellbeing through that lens, too.”
- Wes Streeting, 19th May 2025, Mental Health Bill debate
2. Young carers supporting a parent with a mental illness are far too often left unidentified and unsupported:
- Research from Dr Abby Dunn at the University of Sussex found that just 33% (1 in 3) of staff in mental health inpatient settings routinely ask whether a patient is a parent.
- We asked 50 Young Carers Alliance members how many young carer referrals they received from adult mental health services in 2024-25. On average, they each received fewer than 2 referrals in an entire year. Almost half of the services (23) didn’t receive a single referral from adult mental health services.
If children of parents with a mental illness are identified early, then it means they can have earlier access to the right support – helping to prevent negative impacts on their education, mental health and life chances.
How you can help
On the back of this announcement by the UK Government, we will be seeking to work with the Department of Health and Social Care and mental health trusts to ensure this change becomes a reality.
If you are linked with a mental health trust, you could raise this issue with them and make sure they are linked in with their local young carers service. You could also ask if their work on Triangle of Care is considering young carers. If you would be interested in supporting us with this work, please do contact our Policy Team on policy@carers.org.
Aidan's story
Aidan was 4 years old when his mum was first sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Throughout his childhood, Aidan's mum was regularly sectioned and would sometimes be in hospital for a number of months. There were many occasions where police were involved because his mum had disappeared which was particularly scary for Aidan:
"To me - you only ever saw the police if you'd done something wrong, so remember when they turned up at our house - I thought mum was in trouble."
Seeing his mum being taken into hospital on a regular basis meant Aidan had lots of questions and worries:
"There were so many times where I wondered whether mum would ever come home. I knew she'd been sectioned but I had no idea what that actually meant or if she would ever get better."
Aidan would spend many weekends and evenings after school visiting his mum at the hospital with his dad. Staff at the hospital who were treating Aidan's mum would regularly see him visiting.
Despite this, none of the staff told Aidan or his dad about support which might be available or asked if Aidan might need any help. It was only when Aidan was 12, and his attendance dropped at school that Aidan was identified as a young carer.
Vamp’s story
A recently published Child Safeguarding Practice Review found a 13-year old girl died as a result of taking drugs sold to her in a park.
It was identified that her mum had a period of serious mental illness and that was identified as the catalyst for things deteriorating for the young person – tragically two years later the young person had died. Here is the relevant extract from the review:
“Vamp’s mother did not feel that her daughter had been a young carer for her mother as the mental illness was short term. However, Vamp’s sister described the situation as being so difficult for both Vamp and their mother.
"When their mother was discharged home from hospital, it was only Vamp and her mother at home. Vamp’s sister explained that she, herself, was only a young adult, and with own baby to care for. She supported Vamp and their mother but said she felt that no one checked in on their mother.
"It was at this point that Vamp became more uncontrollable, but their mother could not manage as she had her own care and support needs. Yet, Vamp’s sister said that professionals expected her mother to manage to parent Vamp, which she was not able to do alone, she needed professional help.”