Mental Health Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 2: 2: Clause 2 , page 2, leave out lines 13 and 14 The noble Lord said: My Lords, before speaking to Amendment No. 2, on which I shall detain your Lordships for a very short time, I should like to express my thanks to all those who sent their good wishes for my speedy recovery—it is six weeks since I was able to attend your Lordships’ House—and particularly to those who so ably took my place on the amendments in Committee, which I hope brought forth government amendments that will be acceptable as we go through the Report stage. I pay tribute also to the two Ministers concerned—the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, and the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton of Upholland—who have extended the greatest possible courtesy by telephoning me and keeping me in communication with exactly what was happening in the House of Lords. I am extremely grateful to them. I say as a dispassionate outsider for the past six weeks, reading the goings-on in your Lordships' House, that I can only hope that, later this week, the other place votes for the right selection when it comes to the reform of your Lordships’ House. The quality of the debates and of the amendments put forward has been extraordinary. Amendment No. 2 would delete the words, "““unless that disability is associated with abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on his part””." I believe that those words unfairly pick on people who may well not have a mental disorder but who may well be frustrated for other reasons. I have previously put this case to the Minister, and I know that the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Professor Sheila Hollins, has put exactly the same case. Unfortunately, the Government seem unable to accept my amendment. There seems little point in my pressing it to a Division because I know perfectly well that, even if I were to win, it would be overturned in the other place. I can therefore only hope that the Government will offer me a lifeline in the code of practice. Having listened to the Government’s response on the first amendment, I hope that the code of practice will be strengthened by the attachment of principles to the Bill. The codes of practice therefore become very important. They currently do not apply to this caveat in the Bill. I can only hope that the Minister will give me an assurance that something will be done about this in the near future. I beg to move.