To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will review the Mental Health Act 1983 to ensure people with co-occurring mental health and substance misuse needs are not excluded from treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will review the Mental Health Act 1983 to ensure people with co-occurring mental health and substance misuse needs are not excluded from treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists entitled Co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, published on 13 May 2025.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists entitled Co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, published on 13 May 2025.

My Lords, in this group of amendments my noble friend Lady Berridge has raised an armada of issues which I think it is clear to all of us cannot be ducked. These issues, as she said, were examined at length both during the independent review and by the Joint Committee,...

My Lords, in this group of amendments my noble friend Lady Berridge has raised an armada of issues which I think it is clear to all of us cannot be ducked. These issues, as she said, were examined at length both during the independent review and by the Joint Committee,...

Sixteen.

Sixteen.

Before my noble friend completes his summing up, I welcome him to his first Committee session. He kindly offered to meet me to discuss the accountable person for the process of transfer. Can he assure me that that meeting will take place well before Report?

Before my noble friend completes his summing up, I welcome him to his first Committee session. He kindly offered to meet me to discuss the accountable person for the process of transfer. Can he assure me that that meeting will take place well before Report?

My Lords, like the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy, and the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, I too support the aim behind Clause 35, which is to ensure the speedy access to specialist mental health support for people in prison. Like the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, I also think that there is...

My Lords, like the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy, and the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, I too support the aim behind Clause 35, which is to ensure the speedy access to specialist mental health support for people in prison. Like the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, I also think that there is...

My Lords, briefly, I am with the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, as opposed to the noble Lord, Lord Stevens, on the “seek to” question. When I read Clause 35, I was very excited about what it promised; I thought that, at last, this was being taken seriously. I talked to...

My Lords, briefly, I am with the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, as opposed to the noble Lord, Lord Stevens, on the “seek to” question. When I read Clause 35, I was very excited about what it promised; I thought that, at last, this was being taken seriously. I talked to...

My Lords, I will just add a couple of brief points. This is a really important set of amendments and the issue of making it easier to transfer people between prisons and hospitals is critical. If you like, it is at the heart of some of the reforms that we...

My Lords, I will just add a couple of brief points. This is a really important set of amendments and the issue of making it easier to transfer people between prisons and hospitals is critical. If you like, it is at the heart of some of the reforms that we...

Just the 16. Anyway, it is a long time to wait.

The amendments aiming to make it clear, as the noble Lord said, when the clock starts ticking are really important, so that there is real accountability injected into the system. Often, when things go wrong it is where no one...

Just the 16. Anyway, it is a long time to wait.

The amendments aiming to make it clear, as the noble Lord said, when the clock starts ticking are really important, so that there is real accountability injected into the system. Often, when things go wrong it is where no one...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who spoke to the amendments. I also thank the Government for allowing the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending to reply to this group. That is very much welcomed by the Committee. I think it was the noble Lord’s father who once...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who spoke to the amendments. I also thank the Government for allowing the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending to reply to this group. That is very much welcomed by the Committee. I think it was the noble Lord’s father who once...

Can I just make sure I heard the Minister correctly? I think he said the that one of the reasons it would not be appropriate to do as the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, suggested—that is, to set out a statutory definition—was because it would take too long to do it...

Can I just make sure I heard the Minister correctly? I think he said the that one of the reasons it would not be appropriate to do as the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, suggested—that is, to set out a statutory definition—was because it would take too long to do it...

At the risk of giving the Minister a rather hard time on his first outing in Committee, on the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, about people saying that it will not happen, is he not fearful, as I am, that, given the way life is, if we...

At the risk of giving the Minister a rather hard time on his first outing in Committee, on the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, about people saying that it will not happen, is he not fearful, as I am, that, given the way life is, if we...

I welcome the Minister to his first Committee. Clearly, a lot of work has been done on this to work out within 18 months what is required. Will the Minister let the Committee know what the gap is between existing provision and what would be required in terms of beds...

I welcome the Minister to his first Committee. Clearly, a lot of work has been done on this to work out within 18 months what is required. Will the Minister let the Committee know what the gap is between existing provision and what would be required in terms of beds...

My Lords, it is my great pleasure to respond to the Minister. I will keep it brief. I have been using this Act for 40 years since 1983, and I assure the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, that this is the only clause which is interpreted, before the amendment, as somebody...

My Lords, it is my great pleasure to respond to the Minister. I will keep it brief. I have been using this Act for 40 years since 1983, and I assure the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, that this is the only clause which is interpreted, before the amendment, as somebody...

Moved by

Lord Kamall

99: After Clause 37, insert the following new Clause—

“Duty to record patients not in the criminal justice system escorted to hospital by police

(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision to require the police and hospital trusts to record the number of patients who are not...

Moved by

Lord Kamall

99: After Clause 37, insert the following new Clause—

“Duty to record patients not in the criminal justice system escorted to hospital by police

(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision to require the police and hospital trusts to record the number of patients who are not...

My Lords, I beg to move Amendment 99 in my name and to speak to my further Amendment 137; both are also in the name of my noble friend Lord Howe.

Our Amendment 99 places a duty on the police and on hospital trusts to record the number of patients not...

My Lords, I beg to move Amendment 99 in my name and to speak to my further Amendment 137; both are also in the name of my noble friend Lord Howe.

Our Amendment 99 places a duty on the police and on hospital trusts to record the number of patients not...

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 151 in this group, which is in my name. It is a slightly diverse group, in that the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, has just set out his two amendments, which are very focused on specific areas, while mine is a very general one....

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 151 in this group, which is in my name. It is a slightly diverse group, in that the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, has just set out his two amendments, which are very focused on specific areas, while mine is a very general one....

My Lords, this is an interesting collection of amendments. I suggest that they are all slightly flawed but with good intent behind them.

In relation to Amendment 99 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, as members of the scrutiny committee will know, we spent a long time talking...

My Lords, this is an interesting collection of amendments. I suggest that they are all slightly flawed but with good intent behind them.

In relation to Amendment 99 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, as members of the scrutiny committee will know, we spent a long time talking...

My Lords, I also support Amendment 151 from the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett. Whether such reporting should be specifically confined to community mental health services or be more expansive than that is obviously for debate. Whether it should be bi-annual or more frequently, or once a Parliament, does not really...

My Lords, I also support Amendment 151 from the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett. Whether such reporting should be specifically confined to community mental health services or be more expansive than that is obviously for debate. Whether it should be bi-annual or more frequently, or once a Parliament, does not really...

My Lords, I have spoken a lot about the dangers of medicalising ordinary life and giving it a mental health label. The contribution I made in the previous Committee day on ADHD managed to get picked up by newspapers and generally cited as, “Cruel Baroness hates everybody that says they...

My Lords, I have spoken a lot about the dangers of medicalising ordinary life and giving it a mental health label. The contribution I made in the previous Committee day on ADHD managed to get picked up by newspapers and generally cited as, “Cruel Baroness hates everybody that says they...