Mental health leads trio of social care bills in parliament

April 13, 2007 in Disability, Mental Health

Three important pieces of legislation affecting social care will be debated next week when parliament reconvenes.

The controversial Mental Health Bill gets its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday, while the in the House of Lords on Tuesday the Offender Management Bill gets its second reading and the Disabled Persons (Independent Living) Bill reaches its report stage.

The Mental Health Bill has been strongly contested by many campaigners, including the Mental Health Alliance, a coalition of more than 70 organisations, which says it is a “deeply flawed”.

Last month, peers defeated the government on six key areas of legislation, but health minister Rosie Winterton has vowed to overturn the amendments in the Commons.

The Offender Management Bill has been opposed by probation union Napo which has argued it could lead to the privatisation of the probation service.

The Disabled Persons (Independent Living) Bill, which was tabled by Lord Ashley of Stoke last year, contains measures to help disabled people live more independently.

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