Mental Health Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 54: 54: Schedule 3, page 60, line 14, leave out paragraph 35 and insert— ““Extent 35 (1) In section 146 (application to Scotland), omit the words from ““128”” to ““guardianship)””. (2) This paragraph does not extend to Scotland.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, this group of amendments relates to cross-border issues. The majority of them follow from changes made in Scotland which amend the Mental Health Act 1983; the others seek to clarify the position of patients granted escorted leave from elsewhere in the UK or from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man who wish to visit England and Wales. Amendments Nos. 54, 62 to 65, 90 to 93, 96 and 97 have been laid because of amendments brought forward by the Scottish Executive, in the consideration of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Bill, which amend the Mental Health Act 1983 in relation to Scotland. The ASP Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 15 February; it is expected to receive Royal Assent in March 2007 and to come into force in spring 2008. It will repeal Sections 88 and 128 and remove the references to these provisions in Section 146 of the Mental Health Act 1983, but only as a matter of Scottish law. These amendments reflect the changes made in Scotland to the Mental Health Act 1983 and apply them to the rest of the UK. Their effect will not have a practical impact on the care of patients in Scotland or in the rest of the UK; they simply align the law in Scotland and the law in the rest of the UK. I commend the amendments to your Lordships’ House. Amendments Nos. 61 and 66 clarify the position of patients on escorted leave in England and Wales from elsewhere in the UK or from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, and the legal powers of their escorts. Under Section 17 of the 1983 Act, the clinician giving leave to a detained patient may determine that it is necessary in a patient’s own interests, or for the protection of others, that the patient remains in custody or be escorted during a leave of absence. Section 137 provides that a patient granted escorted leave in England and Wales is deemed to be in the legal custody of their escort. Section 138 provides for the retaking of a patient who escapes from such lawful custody. Amendment No 61, by adding two subsections to Section 17, will engage these provisions for patients on escorted leave in England and Wales from other jurisdictions. The effect is to put beyond doubt that a patient who is granted leave in another jurisdiction, under a provision corresponding to Section 17, may be conveyed, kept in custody or detained by their escort while in England and Wales and retaken in the event that they escape. This will benefit patients from other jurisdictions, particularly those in hospitals outside England and Wales whose relatives live in England and Wales. A clinician is more likely to grant escorted leave into England and Wales if the patient’s health and safety and the health and safety of others can be protected and the legal position is clear. Other jurisdictions are considering similar legislation to ensure that a patient on escorted leave from a hospital in England and Wales is deemed to be in legal custody and that there is a power to retake a patient who escapes from lawful custody. Amendment No. 66 is consequential. It amends regulations that apply to people who may be taken into custody under Scottish legislation so that regulations may be made in respect of patients on leave in Scotland from another jurisdiction. I beg to move.