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Mental Health Bill [Lords]

My hon. Friend is right on both counts, and I will touch on that issue briefly in a minute. As the Minister is always keen to refer to that Act when it suits her, perhaps she will acknowledge that point now—when it suits us, for a change—so that we can draw on that experience, limited in time scale though it is so far. Genevra Richardson’s expert committee on the 1983 Act recommended an approach to compulsion based on capacity. In her submission to the Public Bill Committee, she said:"““Patients should not be subjected to compulsory treatment against their capable wishes simply in the interests of their own health or for the avoidance of annoyance to others. To do so would be to discriminate unjustifiably against mental, as opposed to physical, ill health…I would therefore urge the retention of clause 4””—" on impaired decision making, which we are trying to restore—"““in its amended form. The presence of impaired decision making as a condition for the use of compulsory powers is essential if we are to apply the recognised principles of health care equally across mental and physical disorder. It will help significantly to reduce both the discrimination reflected in the Mental Health Act 1983 and the stigma which feeds on it. In the years since the publication of our Report our understanding of the nature and extent of the stigma attaching to those with mental disorder has greatly improved…and it is clear that the retention of the impaired decision making amendment would mark a significant step in the battle to combat it. Far from seeking to deny treatment to those who need it, the impaired decision making condition would place mental and physical disorder on an equal footing and would begin to break down those barriers which deter people from seeking the help they need.””"