Home secretary, Theresa May has pledged up to £15 million to fund health-based alternatives to jail cells to help those detained under the Mental Health act.

In her reappointment speech since the Tory win at the general election, May addressed the Police Federation conference and outlined a new policing and sentencing bill which includes legislation to prohibit the detainment of children with mental health problems.

The ban will affect those under the age of 18 and will include a promise to introduce a new sentence based around a “sharp, short spell in custody” that will help in offenders “change their behaviour”.

May ensured the money will help in saving police time and will provide medical care and support to vulnerable people.

May is to tell the Police Federation conference in Bournemouth: “Nobody wins when the police are sent to look after people suffering from mental health problems; vulnerable people don’t get the care they need and deserve, and the police can’t get on with the job they are trained to do."

“Last year, over 4,000 people detained under section 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act were held in a police cell rather than in a health-based place of safety.

“The government will provide the bed and the funding that is needed to stop that happening. This will mean up to £15 million of new funding to deliver health-based places of safety in England and a guarantee from this government that no person with mental health problems will be detained by the police due to the lack of a suitable alternative."

“The right place for a person suffering a mental health crisis is a bed, not a police cell. And the right people to look after them are medically trained professionals, not police officers.”

Data shows 20% of the 21,995 people sectioned under the Mental Health act were detained in police cells. Current rules limit detention time to 72 hours but this will be reduced under May’s new plans.

SU/PHX