HC Deb 15 February 1983 vol 37 cc146-7
6. Mr. Greenway

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on progress towards implementing the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

In December of last year we issued a circular to draw attention to the main previsions of the amendment Act and indicated some of the action that would have to be taken before the Act came into effect on 30 September this year. We shall shortly be consulting on draft regulations and orders made under the Act. We are receiving a good response to our request for suggestions for membership of the Mental Health Act Commission and names are still coming in. A Bill to consolidate the 1982 Act with the Mental Health Act 1959 is now under consideration in another place. This Bill will come into operation on 30 September 1983 and we are preparing a full memorandum of guidance on it.

Mr. Greenway

I welcome my hon. and learned Friend's reply, but is he aware of the heavy expenditure being imposed on local authorities by the problems of training social workers to meet the necessities of the Act? Will my hon. and learned Friend help them with it? Is he further aware of the difficulties sometimes created in a community—I say this with sensitivity—where patients from psychiatric institutions are released into the community, but sometimes cannot cope, and where a whole neighbourhood can become upset by that? What can be done?

Mr. Clarke

An important provision of the new Act is that mental welfare officers will be replaced by approved social workers, but that change will not take effect until 28 October 1984. Some training will be required, and some local authorities already train to that level and will have no additional cost. However, other local authorities will have some catching up to do. At the moment we have no evidence to suggest that unreasonable expenditure will be involved.

I accept my hon. Friend's view. Difficulties are sometimes caused when psychiatric patients are put back into the community. In a civilised society we have to treat the mentally ill in a reasonable way and we must try to bring back into the community those who can best live there. The nuisance that can sometimes be caused by these people is one of the things that the general public are prepared to tolerate and will have to accept. One of the main duties of trained approved social workers will be to make sure that the right balance is struck between the interests of the patients and the interests of the community at large.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

If we are a civilised society and we treat the mentally ill correctly, when will the Minister end the scandal of the mentally disordered persons being held in prison? When will those patients who for over nine years have been awaiting transfer from the special hospitals be transferred to NHS psychiatric hospitals?

Mr. Clarke

I share both the hon. Gentleman's objectives. The treatment of individual patients is a matter for clinical and nursing judgment, and finding the right places for patients can prove difficult. It is wrong that patients have been waiting so long for transfer from special hospitals, but the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that we have to find the right hospital, with the psychiatrists, nursing staff and other people prepared to accept those patients, whom they can treat and help. Anything we can do to encourage that we shall try to do.