Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
www.gov.uk/dhsc
Mr Clark
By email to
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
6 September 2022
Dear Mr Clark,
Freedom of Information Request Reference FOI-1414982
Thank you for your request dated 10 August to the Department of Health and Social Care
(DHSC) (for clarity, one of two requests of that date), a copy of which can be found in the
accompanying annex.
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
DHSC holds some information relevant to your request.
A copy of
Building bridges: a guide to arrangements for inter-agency working for the care
and protection of mentally ill people is attached. There is no generally agreed definition of
severe mental illness; however, this document includes a section on defining severe
mental illness on pages 10-13. Conditions deemed as severe mental illnesses by the
authors of this document are included in figure 1 on page 12.
If you are not satisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to appeal by
asking for an internal review. This should be sent to
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or
to the address at the top of this letter and be submitted within two months of the date of
this letter.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communication.
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may complain directly
to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Generally, the ICO cannot make a
decision unless you have already appealed our original response and received our internal
review decision. You should raise your concerns with the ICO within three months of your
last meaningful contact with us.
Guidance on contacting the ICO can be found at
https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us and
information about making a complaint can be found a
t https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Annex
From: Kaleb <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Sent: 10 August 2022 04:04
To: FreedomofInformation <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Building bridges: a guide to arrangements for
inter-agency working for the care and protection of mentally ill people
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Do you have a copy of: Building bridges: a guide to arrangements for inter-agency
working for the care and protection of mentally ill people
Do you have a definition of 'severe mental illness'?
Can you clarify if personality disorder is deemed 'severe mental illness'?
Can you clarify if psychopathic disorder is deemed 'severe mental illness'?
Can you clarify if psychopathy is deemed 'severe mental illness'?
Yours faithfully,
Mr Clark
