§ Baroness Barkerasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people in England and Wales currently receive free aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983; and [HL445]
What is the average length of time for which patients discharged from compulsory in-patient treatment receive free aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983; and [HL446]
What is their estimate of the savings to public funds if patients discharged from compulsory inpatient treatment were entitled to free aftercare for six weeks, as proposed in the draft Mental Health Bill, rather than the current entitlement under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to free aftercare until such a time as the Health Authority and the local social services authority are satisfied that patients no longer need such services. [HL447]
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§ Lord WarnerThe Department of Health does not routinely collect information on the number of people receiving aftercare upon discharge from compulsion, or the length of time for which they receive it.
We are commissioning some further work to estimate the aftercare costs that would arise from the proposed arrangements under the draft Mental Health Bill, including the transitional arrangements. This work will also estimate the costs of aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, so that we can estimate any savings that may be made. It will include an analysis of how many people receive aftercare and what the average length of time for which patients discharged from compulsory in-patient treatment receive free aftercare. The analysis will also look at the likely cost of aftercare under the draft Bill after the period of free "intermediate care" and the effect of means testing, so that accurate comparisons can be made between the costs under the 1983 Act and those under the draft Bill.