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Proceeding contribution from Lord Patel of Bradford (Crossbench) in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 17 January 2007. It occurred during Committee of the Whole House (HL) and Debate on bill on Mental Health Bill [HL].

Mental Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I speak to Amendment No. 29 and shall be extremely brief. Home Office circular 66/90 exhibits misplaced optimism in stating: "““there is no longer any scope for disputes between Health Authorities as to responsibility””" for providing a bed for remanded patients. There is indeed scope for disputes, and we are informed that they are frustrating the smooth working of the Act as a diversionary mechanism for mentally disordered offenders. As a precedent in other legislation for the Secretary of State to arbitrate or, rather, rule over disputes between authorities about responsibility for individuals, the Government should take such powers here and put an end to such disputes. I support the amendment wholeheartedly.

Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
688 c657 
Session
2006-07
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Children Disclosure of information Civil liberties Criminal proceedings Codes of practice Admissions Courts Bail Carers Compulsorily detained psychiatric patients Advocacy Emergency services Discrimination Ethnic groups Medical examinations Offenders Mental illness Powers of entry Police Powers Membership Management Members NHS trusts Monitoring Patients' rights Minority groups Mental health services Mental health Relatives Psychiatric hospitals Mental Health Act Commission Mental Health Review Tribunal Young people Social workers Police stations Community treatment orders
Legislation
Mental Health Bill (HL) 2006-07
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk