The Joint Committee on Human Rights is inviting written
submissions to inform its legislative scrutiny of the Mental
Health Bill.
The Mental Health Bill would introduce wide-ranging changes to
the Mental Health Act 1983. This is the principal legislation
governing the detention and compulsory treatment of people
suffering from mental disorders in England and Wales. It would
make changes to policies in multiple areas including the approach
to autism and learning disabilities, grounds for detention, and
community treatment orders.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights is undertaking scrutiny of
the bill to assess its compatibility with international and
domestic human rights standards.
Get involved
The Joint Committee on Human Rights welcomes evidence from
interested groups and individuals. To find out more information
about how to submit evidence, please visit the Mental Health Bill inquiry
page.
The deadline for submissions is 24 January
2025.
In particular, the Committee is interested in receiving views on
the following issues:
1. The Bill will remove the
power for autistic people and people with learning disabilities
to be detained under section 3 of the Mental Health Act on the
basis of their autism or learning disability. However, no
equivalent changes are made for autistic people and people with
learning disabilities under Part 3 of the Act (so-called
‘forensic' patients). Does this differential treatment raise any
concerns under Article 14 ECHR when read with Article 5 or
Article 8 ECHR?
2. The Bill will allow
conditions amounting to a deprivation of liberty to be applied as
part of a conditional discharge (see Clause 33).
a. Are there sufficient
safeguards for the new deprivation of liberty conditions to be
compatible with Article 5 ECHR?
b. The Bill will allow these
deprivation of liberty conditions to be applied retrospectively,
meaning that a patient who is already conditionally discharged
could be made subject to them. Does this raise any human rights
concerns, particularly under Article 5 ECHR?
3. The Mental Health Act 1983
and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 can both be applicable to the
detention and treatment of patients with mental health
conditions. Does the interaction between the two Acts raise any
human rights concerns? In particular, are there any concerns that
the law is insufficiently clear to fulfil the “prescribed by law”
criteria in Article 5 ECHR, or to raise discrimination concerns
under Article 14 ECHR?
4. Other than the issues
identified in the above questions, does the Bill raise any other
issues under the ECHR or the Human Rights Act 1998?
5. The UK is a party to the
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Does
the Bill raise any concerns regarding the UK's compliance with
this convention?
6. The Bill has provisions
which would apply to children as well as adults. The UK is a
party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Does the
Bill raise any concerns regarding the UK's compliance with this
convention?
