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Mental Health Bill [Lords]

I want to comment on two aspects of this group. First, I want to pose some questions to the Minister about advocacy. Clearly, that part of the Bill is completely new. It is a welcome new addition, but it is a reappearance, because advocacy services were promised by the Government in the 2004 draft. That was very much welcomed by the pre-legislative scrutiny Committee, which raised practical questions with the Minister about it. She has now included the provision, but it could have been included in the first place, which would have enabled the Committee to consider the finer print, and saved us further debate here. Advocacy is essential in three main areas: to ensure a statutory right to an independent mental health advocate for all patients subject to compulsory powers; to make patients aware of that right, which the Minister has touched on; and to ensure, as my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Angela Browning) pointed out, that patients have a right to meet their advocate in private. Those are fundamental human rights that should be made available as part of the service. The advocates will be essential, providing support to vulnerable people in exercising their rights to appeal against decisions made for their treatment or confinement: for example, as a way of communicating their interests when they may lack capacity to do so for themselves. That service should be provided, particularly for the most vulnerable patients, and prioritised at the point of crisis. The issue of the availability of culturally competent advocacy has also been raised. In particular, the black and minority ethnic mental health communities have pointed to the importance of suitable advocacy for their members. The pre-legislative scrutiny Committee questioned the Minister’s estimated costings. The regulatory impact assessment estimated the whole-time equivalent of 140 advocates at a cost of approximately £5 million. We seriously questioned whether the Minister had made a very conservative and inadequate estimate. We need to be convinced that the service will be workable, viable and sustainable, not just a token effort to make available a few—but not nearly enough—advocates. Has the Minister reviewed the costings?