§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 with particular reference to the length of time people may be detained without trial; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThe Government have reviewed the 1964 Act in the light of recommendations made by the Butler committee on mentally abnormal offenders which reported in 1975. The Government recognise that it is desirable to amend the Act by providing for an examination by a court of the case against an accused person found unfit to plead. Under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983, a person admitted to hospital following a finding of unfit to plead under the provisions of the 1964 Act may apply to a mental health review tribunal for his discharge in the first six months of his detention and at specified intervals thereafter.