§ Mr. BlizzardTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Bournewood Judgment. [60293]
§ Mr. HuttonPreliminary guidance on the implications of the judgment was given in a circular issued by the National Health Service Executive on 10 July (Health Services Circular 1998/999). Further guidance will be included in a revised Code of Practice on the Mental Health Act 1983 which, subject to the approval of the House, will be published early next year. The wider implications of the judgments of the Law Lords are being considered in the context of development of Government policy on mental incapacity more generally, and by the expert group which has been set up to advise the Government on the review of the Mental Health Act.