The final report of the Commission for Equality in Mental Health entitled ‘Mental health for all?’, has found that mental health inequalities mirror wider economic and social inequalities. 

The Commission for Equality in Mental Health was set up to explore what causes mental health inequalities, what perpetuates them and what the potential solutions might be. 

According to the report, inequalities put the mental health of people experiencing poverty, racial injustice and discrimination at risk. This can create social divisions, meaning that many groups of people face up to three times the risk of mental ill health, and yet these same groups find it harder to get help for their mental health.

The report also highlighted that action for mental health equality needs to begin in neighbourhoods, localities and community groups and set out what a system designed for equality would look like if these groups worked together.