Government Plans to Undo Key Changes Made by the House of Lords

The Government has put forward changes to undo four amendments made by the House of Lords to the Mental Health Bill. These Lords amendments were designed to give patients more protection and involve more professionals in mental health decisions. The Government wants to:

• Stop the plan to let other health and social care workers (not just police) use certain detention powers under sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act.
• Remove the proposed 12-month limit on community treatment orders, which would have required a second psychiatrist’s approval to extend.
• Cancel the new rules for choosing a Nominated Person for under-16s who can’t choose someone themselves.
• Drop the new duty for Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs) to meet with patients after they leave hospital to talk about their experience.

If these changes go ahead, the Bill will return to the Government’s original version, removing the extra duties and limits added by the Lords. However, these proposals will go through a process called “ping-pong,” where the House of Commons and House of Lords go back and forth until they agree.

Mental Health Bill: Committee Stage Begins in the House of Commons

On 11 June, the House of Commons began the committee stage of the Mental Health Bill, MPs focused their discussions on the first four clauses of the Bill, with particular attention to:

• How the Bill affects people with learning disabilities and autism
• Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews
• Dynamic risk registers
• There was also some discussion on clause 5, which deals with the reasons someone can be detained under the law.

Here are the key points from the day:

1. Family Rights Amendment
   Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP responded to a proposed amendment (the “Fiona Laskaris amendment”) that would let families ask for a mental capacity assessment if someone is at risk of being detained. He said this Bill wasn’t the right place for that change, but promised to look into the issue further.
2. Votes on Amendments
   There were two votes:
   • One amendment would have required local health bodies (ICBs) to create risk registers for all children under 18 at risk of detention. It was voted down 9–2.
   • Another amendment would have required ICBs to provide crisis accommodation for people with autism or learning disabilities. This was also defeated 9–2.
3. Implementation Plans
   MPs discussed how and when the Bill will be put into action. The Care Minister promised to publish a yearly update on progress and future plans.
4. Detention Criteria
   The Government rejected changes that would have stopped people with mental capacity from being detained just because they might harm themselves. The Minister said it’s serious to treat someone who understands what’s happening, but sometimes it’s necessary to act to protect them.
5. A&E Holding Powers
   An amendment was proposed to allow A&E departments to temporarily hold people under the Mental Health Act. The Minister said there’s no agreement on this yet but promised to explore it further and check if there’s data on how often this happens.
6. Liberty Protection Safeguards
   Opposition MPs raised concerns about how the new Liberty Protection Safeguards will work alongside the Mental Health Act

Open call for evidence- Review of CQC Regulation 9A: visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices

Department of Health and Social Care has published a call for evidence to inform its review of regulation 9A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 on visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices.

Regulation 9A came into force on 6 April 2024 and the review is aimed at determining whether it has been effective making sure:

1. people staying in a care home, hospital or hospice can receive visits from people they want to see
2. people living in a care home are not discouraged from taking visits outside the home
3. people attending appointments in a hospital or hospice, that do not require an overnight stay, can be accompanied by a family member, friend or advocate if they want someone with them

Deadline for responses is 9 July- speak up and share your views here. Review of CQC Regulation 9A: visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices – Department of Health and Social Care