§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in implementing the Government's undertaking given in the House during the passage of the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982 that separate figures would be kept by his Department detailing the numbers of people detained in hospital as a place of safety under section 136 and those detained in a police station.
§ Mr. HurdThe undertaking was to give careful consideration to record-keeping in connection with the use of section 136 by the police. The Department of Health and Social Security already keeps statistics of admissions to hospital under this section.
Our review of this matter has so far suggested that to collect statistics centrally, which would require a new national reporting system for police forces, would be expensive and, particularly because of the relatively infrequent use of this power, might not lead to wholly reliable conclusions. We are, however, continuing to consider whether there are alternative measures lich might usefully be taken to improve upon the records currently available.