HC Deb 16 January 1979 vol 960 cc703-4W
Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the use of section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1959 has increased so sharply in recent years.

Dr. Summerskill

As indicated in paragraph 2.22 of the White Paper "Review of the Mental Health Act 1959" (Cmnd. 7320), the use of the power has, according to national statistics, been fairly constant over the last few years. But the Committee on Mentally Abnormal Offenders drew attention in paragraphs 9.4 to 9.6 of its report (Cmnd. 6244) to the need to interpret these statistics with care.