---

Mental Health Bill [HL]

I, too, welcome most warmly the return of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, to the Front Bench. No one is more qualified than he, in the light of his experience, to hold this brief. I can assure him that he will have a very exciting life during the passage of this Bill. It has been a singularly well informed debate of very high quality. My comments will be quite brief. I have received a flood of letters from professional organisations of every kind stressing the crucial importance of including principles in the Bill. The issue was brilliantly articulated by the noble Earl, Lord Howe. I will quote just one piece of the evidence that I have received; it is from the General Medical Council, of which the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, was once a distinguished lay member. The council said that it was very, "““disappointed that principles have not been included on the face of the [Bill] (although they are in the draft Code of Practice)””, particularly as””—" the noble Lords, Lord Rix and Lord Carlile, have also said this recently— "““the Government agreed in its response to the report of the Joint Committee on the draft Mental Health Bill 2004, that principles should be set out on the face of the Bill””." The GMC says that, while it welcomes, "““the principles, including respect for patients, non-discrimination, maximum benefit and minimum restrictions, which are set out in the draft Code of Practice, we maintain that clear, meaningful principles should be included on the face of the legislation itself””." It believes that, "““this would be a valuable way of providing clarity about the scope and purpose of the Bill, so that those working within its framework or affected by its provisions are clear about the basis on which it is considered legitimate to intervene in the lives of people with a mental disorder””." I could not put that more clearly. The House should support this amendment very strongly.