§ Sir David MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the names of the mental health tribunal and clinical team who assessed Douglas Byelong as fit to live in the community; and what assessment he has made of the current system for assessing whether patients detained on mental and criminal grounds should be released. [7814]
§ Mr. BurnsIt is a statutory requirement that the names of persons concerned in tribunal proceedings should not be made public. The mental health review tribunals are independent judicial bodies and their procedures are defined in the mental health review tribunal rules made by the Lord Chancellor. Copies of the rules are available in the Library. The Department of Health has recently commissioned a research study into the decision making process of the tribunals.