Mental Health Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 66: 66: Schedule 6 , page 107, leave out lines 7 to 29 The noble Baroness said: At this hour I do not wish to rerun many of the debates that we have just had on the previous amendment moved by the noble Earl. However, as the noble Baroness will be aware, this group comprises probing amendments on the role of the Bournewood case. I wish to make a point which, the noble Baroness will not be surprised to hear, has been raised by the Making Decisions Alliance and the Mental Health Alliance. On the previous amendment the noble Baroness talked about there being an advocate independent of family members. We understand that. Anybody who discussed the Mental Capacity Act will know only too well that what is determined as being in the best interests of a person who lacks capacity sometimes coincides with the wishes of their family members but sometimes does not. However, the point that I wish to draw out with these amendments is that it is important that somebody is present who is independent also of the authority making the authorisation. That point was perhaps not reflected in the previous discussion. We are talking about people who are being deprived of their liberty—it is a unique deprivation of liberty given the financial questions which surround it. Whether or not a patient is befriended, it is particularly important that they have access to that independent advocate throughout. That is principally what the amendments are about. I beg to move.