Amendments to Mental Health Bill delayed

The government’s planned amendments to the Mental Health Bill will not be published before the parliamentary recess, which begins on Wednesday.

If it is to publish the amendments this parliamentary session, as it originally intended, it will have to do so between Monday 9 October, when parliament returns, and the Queen’s speech on 15 November.

But the wait may be even longer than that, as health secretary Patricia Hewitt told MPs last week that the amendments would be introduced “as soon as parliamentary time allows” rather than specifying this parliamentary session.

The government’s amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983 will include the removal of the requirement that people detained under the act be considered treatable, and replacement of approved social workers with approved mental health professionals.