Mental Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I support the noble Earl, Lord Howe, and thank the Minister for his letter to me explaining the position that he took at that time and for his change of heart. We very much welcome the amendment, although it does not quite go far enough. The concept of the Gillick-competent child is quite well understood. It works very well in relation to sexual advice. If you were dealing with a large number of children—in a school, for example—it might be practically difficult to use the concept of a Gillick-competent child in making decisions. The cases we are talking about involve individual children whom the professionals have had every opportunity to get to know and to assess whether they are competent to make the decision. In that situation, I suggest to the Minister that, practically speaking, it is very reasonable to ask the Government to include not just 16 and 17 year-olds but also those children who can demonstrate their competence to decide on these matters.