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Mental Health Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 32: 32: After Clause 20, insert the following new Clause— ““Duty to inform nearest relatives of rights (1) Section 13 of the 1983 Act (duty of approved social workers to make applications for admission or guardianship) is amended as follows. (2) After subsection (5) insert— ““(5A) After making an application for admission or guardianship, the approved mental health professional shall have a duty to take all practicable steps to inform the person (if any) appearing to be the nearest relative of the following rights within 7 days— (a) to apply for admission for assessment under section 11(1) above; (b) to apply for admission for treatment under section 11(1) above; (c) to apply for guardianship under section 11(1) above; (d) to be informed of an admission for assessment under section 11(3) above; (e) to object to an application for admission for treatment or a guardianship application under section 11(4)(a) above; (f) to be consulted before an admission for treatment or guardianship under section 11(4)(b) above; (g) to require a local authority to make arrangements for an approved social worker to consider the patient’s case and to be given written reasons if an application is not made under section 13(4) above; (h) to discharge the patient from detention or guardianship under section 23(2) below; (i) to apply to the Mental Health Review Tribunal under section 66(1) below; (j) to be informed of the intended discharge of a patient under section 133(1) below; (k) to be involved in aftercare planning under section 117 below; and (l) to be furnished with a copy of information relating to community patients under section 25 of the Mental Health Act 2007.”””” The noble Lord said: I assure the Minister that I do not move this amendment with a deep sense of frustration, which is a phrase that I have heard around the Committee today. Not at all! Monday was deep frustration day, but this is Wednesday. I recognise that if Amendment No. 40, which is grouped with Amendment No. 32, is agreed, the definition of ““relative”” and ““nearest relative”” would be amended, giving the patient the right to nominate, if he or she so wishes, a named person who could fulfil the role of nearest relative. But subject to that—and I realise that the noble Baronesses,Lady Barker and Lady Neuberger, will speak to Amendment No. 40 later—I shall concentrate on the substance of Amendment No. 32. The reason for this amendment is that nearest relatives are rarely aware of their important rights under the Mental Health Act 1983, which are one of the safeguards in relation to compulsory treatment. I am sure that the Minister shares my view that it is important that the duty to inform nearest relatives should work well and should always be respected. At present, no statutory body has responsibility for providing information to nearest relatives, so this amendment puts a specific duty on the approved mental health professional to take all practical steps to provide the information within seven days. I should perhaps declare that, last year, I was a nearest relative for quite a number of months, so I have a little personal experience of it. It may be thought that the list of points in the amendment is rather fulsome, but I wish to give the Minister the opportunity to comment on whether he views it as reasonable to cover them all and, if so, how best to achieve that. I beg to move.