Mental Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I want to reiterate my support for the amendment and follow up on some comments I made in Committee. I wish to speak briefly about some of the specifics, first in relation to substance misuse. Here I should declare again an interest as chief executive of Turning Point which provides services to more than 70,000 people with substance misuse challenges. Unlike the Bill, this amendment specifies substance misuse as well as dependency. That is important because both the misuse of and dependence on substances are included in international classification systems used by psychiatrists such as ICD 10, mentioned by the noble Earl, Lord Howe. Unless the legislation excludes both misuse and dependency, it could mean that people come under mental health law inappropriately. Let me give an example, as I am prone to do, from Turning Point’s case files. John is one of Turning Point’s alcohol service users. He is a binge drinker but is not dependent on alcohol. He does not have a concurrent mental health problem, but he reacts to times of personal and emotional crisis by drinking. He will drink heavily for several days and nights before crashing. He then will not drink alcohol for several months. John’s irrational behaviour could mean that he is inappropriately sectioned under mental health law unless exclusions in the Bill also cover substance misuse. Having explained the need for exclusions solely on the basis of misuse or dependence on alcohol or drugs, I stress that if a person has a dual diagnosis of a mental disorder and a problem with misuse or dependence on alcohol or drugs, they should not be excluded from treatment under the Act. As I highlighted in Committee, Turning Point’s experience is that people with a so-called dual diagnosis have been turned away from mental health services in the past, due to the current exclusions in the Bill, so it will be vital for any code of practice to address the issue and address it properly. Secondly, with regard to, "““cultural, religious or political beliefs””," while I do not think it is the Government’s intention to use psychiatry as some kind of social control, these things have a horrible habit of happening by accident and by fashion. I need not repeat the substantial and undisputed evidence about high rates of detention among people of African and Caribbean origin in comparison with those who are white British—we have discussed that enough today. However, I repeat my firm belief that in the light of these statistics, it is imperative for the Government to take proactive steps to address this imbalance. The amendment is an important way of doing so. I would dearly like to believe that racial and other stereotypes do not influence diagnosis, but the reality for many of the young black men I have spoken to—and it usually is young black men—is very different. I urge the Government to accept the amendment.