---

Mental Health Bill [HL]

Amendment No. 33B seeks to amend Section 13 of the Mental Health Act which deals with approved social workers—under the Bill, AMHPs—making applications for a patient’s admission under the Act. The amendment removes the requirement for the AMHP to be acting on behalf of a local social services authority, LSSA. It also introduces a requirement that the assessment should be carried out within a reasonable time having regard to the circumstances of the case. The Government are concerned to ensure that the case of a patient who may need to be admitted under the Act is assessed by an AMHP within a reasonable time. However, where a statutory duty is not carried out within a reasonable time it is already the case that this is likely to constitute a breach of that duty. Therefore, the duty to arrange for an AMHP to consider a patient’s case for application already implicitly includes the duty for a local authority to do so within a reasonable time. This will be explicitly highlighted in the codes of practice for England and Wales and we do not believe that additional legislation is needed to achieve the effect that the noble Baroness is seeking. The second aspect of Amendment No. 33B would remove the requirement for an AMHP to act on behalf of a local authority when considering a patient’s case for admission. I note the concerns expressed by the noble Baroness that if an AMHP is said to be acting on behalf of an LSSA, the LSSA could in some way direct the decisions of the AMHP. But this is not the case. An AMHP is required to make an independent decision about whether to make an application. I can assure your Lordships that nothing in the Bill changes this. Paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 2 to the Bill makes it clear that AMHPs must make an application only if they are personally satisfied that it is necessary and proper so to do. The decision cannot be overturned by the local social services authority for which they are acting. The AMHP acts independently and will continue to do so in their decision making. The Bill makes it clear that an AMHP carriesout their functions on behalf of the LSSA. This underlines the independence of the AMHP from the trust that may employ the doctors who also examine a patient’s case for admission. It also ensures that the responsibility for providing that an AMHP service is in place still clearly lies with the local social services authority, whether or not it chooses to enter into arrangements with another body, such as a trust, to provide the service. I hope your Lordships will agree that it is important that we maintain this line of responsibility to the local social services authority for providing the AMHP service. I therefore invite the noble Baroness to reconsider the amendment.