Mental Health Act 2007 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2008

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 7 July be approved. The noble Baroness said: My Lords, you will recall that the Mental Health Act 2007 received Royal Assent on 19 July last year. This evening we have to consider a straightforward order that makes a number of amendments to legislation as a result of the implementation of the changes that the Mental Health Act 2007 makes to the Mental Health Act 1983 on 3 November this year. One of the main changes made by the 2007 Act was to introduce a new, simplified definition of mental disorder. That removes the unnecessary and sometimes unhelpful distinctions between different categories of mental disorder. In future, the powers in the Act will apply to all mental disorders, regardless of the legal label attached to them. This gives rise to the amendments at Articles 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 of the order. Another difference will be the increase in the number of professions from which people can be drawn to perform the role of approved social worker. The former will now be approved mental health professionals—AMHPs—who will be drawn from nurses, occupational therapists and clinical psychologists as well as social workers. Articles 3 and 20 of the order are required as a consequence. Articles 17(b), 18(b) and 19(b), together with Articles 11 to 14, reflect the abolition of after-care under supervision. They take effect on the later date of 4 May next year because the provisions they abolish remain in force until the end of the transitional period for people who are currently on after-care under supervision. I note in passing that that period was extended from three to six months in response to comments from key stakeholders on the consultation version of the secondary legislation. Articles 17(a), 18(a) and 19(a) insert references to supervised community treatment—SCT—into three sets of regulations about direct payments. This preserves their effect in relation to patients who come under the 1983 Act while living in the community given that the current references to after-care under supervision are being removed. Article 7 provides that the Mental Health Act Commission takes on an additional function in respect of patients on supervised community treatment. Articles 9 and 15 are simply tidying-up measures. Article 9 revokes some redundant regulations about after-care under supervision in relation to Scotland.Article 15 revokes an old order which amended the Mental Health Act 1983 in 2001 to put right an incompatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of the powers of the Mental Health Review Tribunal. That leaves Article 16, which amends the Private and Voluntary Health Care (England) Regulations 2001. These refer to the current Mental Health (Hospital, Guardianship and Consent to Treatment) Regulations 1983 which will be replaced by the Mental Health (Hospital, Guardianship and Treatment) (England) Regulations 2008. None of the main changes that the 2007 Act brings in on 3 November gives rise to any need for consequential amendments. Similarly, we do not expect to need to amend any other legislation as a consequence of either of the two further measures that we are introducing at later dates. We are on course to introduce the statutory services of independent mental health advocates—IMHAs—in April next year, and our plans are still on track to implement the requirement for hospitals to ensure that patients aged under 18 admitted for mental health treatment are accommodated in an age-appropriate environment (subject to their needs) in April 2010. On this basis, I hope that your Lordships’ House will approve the order. I beg to move. Moved, That the order laid before the House on 7 July be approved. 26th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.—(Baroness Thornton.)