Mental Health Bill (Hansard, 23 January 2003)

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to publish the responses to the draft Mental Health Bill consultation. [92579]

§ Jacqui Smith
The consultation responses received in respect of the draft Mental Health Bill will be made available to the public before introduction of the Bill, except where respondents have asked for confidentiality.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide a right to assessment of mental health needs for any individual making a reasonable request for such assessment in the new Mental Health Bill. [92580]

§ Jacqui Smith
The purpose of the Bill is to provide a legal framework for the treatment of someone with a mental disorder without their consent; it is not about rights to services. It does, however, create a duty to assess whether the conditions for compulsion are satisfied in individual cases, which may be triggered by any reasonable request where the conditions appear to be met. Once under compulsion, every patient must have a written care plan of treatment.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he plans to adopt the Joint Committee on Human Rights recommendation that the Code of Practice in the draft Mental Health Bill be given statutory force. [92581]

§ Jacqui Smith
We are pleased that the Joint Committee on Human Rights has welcomed the major improvements to the safeguards for patients' human rights proposed in the draft Mental Health Bill.
We are currently considering very carefully all the recommendations contained in their Report on the draft Bill.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that no person will be deemed as suffering from a mental disorder under the provisions of new mental health legislation solely for the purpose of preventing commission of illegal or disorderly acts. [92582]

§ Jacqui Smith
This already is the policy. The Bill will not allow the use of compulsory powers on any person solely to prevent them from offending. The powers of the Bill may only be used where the conditions are met. This means that there must be a diagnosis of mental disorder, and that there must be appropriate treatment available for the patient. Once under compulsion, every patient must have a written plan of treatment.

§ Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the proposals contained in the draft Mental Health Bill relate to the Government's strategy on alcohol. [92583]

§ Jacqui Smith
The proposals in the draft Mental Health Bill will remove the existing exclusion for alcohol dependency found in the Mental Health Act 1983. This will mean that there is no barrier to people being treated under compulsory powers when this is necessary because the conditions in the Bill are satisfied.
475W
The Bill will provide a legal framework for compulsory treatment, which will be compatible with developments in mental health services and other health implementation frameworks. This includes the Government's commitment to implementing the national alcohol harm reduction strategy by 2004. The recent consultation on the strategy included questions about the relationship between alcohol misuse and mental health problems and sought views on how services could be best provided. The consultation period ended on 15 January and an interim analysis will be published by the Cabinet Office strategy unit in the spring.