§ 46. Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many mentally handicapped patients detained under (a) Section 26, (b) Section 60 and (c) Sections 60 to 65 of the Mental Health Act applied for mental health review tribunals in the latest year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MoyleThe information for patients classified under the Mental Health Act 1959 as suffering from subnormality or severe subnormality in respect of tribunals in England is as follows for the year 1977:
- a. Section 26. 55 applications.
- b. Section 60. 38 applications.
- c. Section 60 with restrictions under Section 65. 84 references were made by my right Honourable Friend the Home Secretary under Section 66 of the Mental Health Act.
In addition, 28 patients classified under the Act as suffering from subnormality or severe subnormality and detained under other provisions of the Mental Health Act or under other legislation applied or had their cases referred to a mental health review tribunal.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to meet the target of 12,000 residential places for the mentally ill, as suggested in the White Paper, "Better Services for the Mentally Ill."
§ Mr. EnnalsProgress will depend on the resources available and the priority given by authorities to these services. The rate of development proposed in the consultative document "Priorities for Health and Social Services in England" and confirmed in the follow-up paper "The Way Forward" should, if maintained, enable this and the other guidelines set out in the White Paper to be achieved within the next 25–30 years.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether the 694W assumption in "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped", that a significant number of mentally handicapped children need the specialist medical and nursing care which only a hospital can provide, represents Government policy;
(2) if he proposes to announce a new policy which ensures that every child can in future be cared for in his own or her own home area, in a substitute home if necessary;
(3) if he will take steps to ensure concerted action by health authorities and local authorities to ensure that no child under 16 years of age will be living in a mental handicap hospital;
(4) in view of his statement to the Local Authorities Association's social services conference in November, that mentally handicapped children are still being admitted to hospitals because of inadequate local authority services for them and their families, what steps he is taking to ensure that these admissions cease.
§ Mr. EnnalsIt is already Government policy that services for all mentally handicapped people should be provided as near to their homes as possible as part of the major 20-year programme of improvements laid down in the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped". While the Government still believe that some mentally handicapped children will always continue to need hospital care, we now think that the White Paper overestimated the number of hospital places that would be needed for these children. I have already asked local authorities to give high priority to providing facilities which could prevent the inappropriate admission of mentally handicapped children to hospital. A copy of my speech to the Local Authority Associations' social services conference last November has been placed in the Library. In that speech I said that I should like to see health and local authorities jointly reviewing the needs of those mentally handicapped children now in hospital and fixing target dates after which no child would be admitted to a mental handicap hospital for long-term care unless it needed the specialist services which only that particular hospital could provide. I shall be consulting field authorities on the measures necessary to achieve these aims.
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§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many young people between the ages of 16 and 21 years are long-term patients in mental subnormality hospitals.
§ Mr. EnnalsAt 31st December 1975 in England there were 4,100 persons between the ages of 16 and 21 years who had been in hospitals for the mentally handicapped for two years or more.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children who have lived for two years or more in mental handicap hospitals have been discharged to suitable community facilities in each year since 1971; and what ages these children have been.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe information requested is not available centrally. The following tables indicate the levels of discharges, since 1971, of children age 0–14 years who have been in mental handicap hospitals for 2 years or more; but it is not known centrally how many returned to their own homes or to other community facilities:
1971 207 1972 251 1973 191 1974 149 1975 132
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide a list of local authorities which have not yet made provision for the residential care of mentally handicapped children or adults within their authority boundaries.
§ Mr. EnnalsAt 31st March 1977 the City of London and the Isles of Scilly were the only local authorities which on their statistical returns recorded no provision of residential accommodation for mentally handicapped adults or children.
Records held centrally do not show whether residential facilities available to local authorities are always situated within their own boundaries.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services in view of the disquiet about the treatment and care of children in mental handicap hospitals, what steps he is taking to make public the reports on their condition by the National Development Team.
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§ Mr. EnnalsThe development team for the mentally handicapped reports direct to authorities which seek its advice, with copies to my Department. It is for the authorities which receive team reports to determine their distribution. However, I expect shortly to receive a report from the director about the activities of the team over the past year and this report will be published as soon as possible. I understand it will include a section on services for mentally handicapped children.