Authors of Independent Review of Mental Health Act to give evidence to Joint Committee

Wednesday’s session will hear from the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the 2018 Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983 which paved the way for the publication of the draft legislation. 

The evidence session is expected to consider the impact of the exclusion of some of the Independent Review’s recommendations from the draft Mental Health Bill.  

Members of the Joint Committee are likely to examine why the Independent Review had expressed concerns about removing autistic people or people with learning disabilities from the Mental Health Act. The Joint Committee has recently taken evidence about the draft Bill’s proposal to remove learning disabilities and autism as conditions for detention in inpatient care where there is no concurrent mental health condition.   

Further discussions expected on grounds for detention, patient choice and how well the draft Bill reflects the Independent Review’s priority to address racial and ethnic inequalities.