Mental Health Bill [HL]

Baroness Watkins of Tavistock Excerpts

Monday 24th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Scriven (LD)]

My Lords, I wish to put on record my thanks for the collaborative spirit of the Minister and her officials when discussing the issue of community treatment orders.

This issue came about during the passage of the Bill, in the context of the balance between mandatory community treatment and deprivation of people’s freedom in the community; people who seemed always to be in the revolving door and could not get off a community treatment order; and in particular racial disparity.

The Minister has moved forward, and it really is about that balance between the power of the individual patient and the clinician. Where the Government have got to in discussions is a “stop and check” for the clinician—having to think about why the extension of the community treatment order is required. If the tribunal says that certain conditions of a treatment order should not be established or be part of a patient’s treatment, the clinician has to stop and think and will be mandated through the code of practice to explain why that happens.

I very much welcome the offer to consult both myself and the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, and involve us in redrawing the code of practice. It is important that within that code of practice, words such as “must” are used, rather than “may”, which would give the clinician the discretion to not write things down as much as is required when people’s freedom is being taken away.

Again, I thank the noble Baroness and her officials and look forward to getting that balance absolutely correct to stop the revolving door.

[Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister, officials and Members of the other House for Amendment 12, which will ensure the human rights of patients who are placed in the private sector under NHS contracts. Many of us were concerned about that, but the situation is completely resolved through Amendment 12.

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

I had an amendment in the area covered by Amendments 1 to 4 at an earlier stage of the Bill, and I just wanted to put on record my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady May of Maidenhead, for her tenacious pursuance of this issue, and the discussions which followed. I also want to thank my noble friend the Minister for taking the right step in having a full consultation on the issue. As she said, there are strong views on both sides. There is a need for some change, but clearly, full consultation is the right approach.

Perhaps I can also take the opportunity, even though the issue does not arise directly, to mention again the “Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space” and the fact that although it is not in the Bill, it will be in the MHA code of practice. I just hope we get there sooner rather than later.