A deep dive into the Mental Health Bill 2024

A deep dive into the Mental Health Bill 2024

Upcoming events in the series

Please fill out the form here to register for any of the upcoming events in this series. 

Tribunal and aftercare - 16 May 2025

Mental health and structural racism - Date TBC (Webinar)

Autism and learning disability

Tuesday 4th March 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30, followed by a drinks reception

Location:  In-person at Doughty Street Chambers, 54 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LS & on Zoom

Doughty Street Chambers is delighted to co-host this seminar with Rightful Lives, to explore amendments to the Mental Health Bill that could advance the rights of persons with learning disabilities and/or autistic people. A variety of speakers will give brief presentations about why the current Bill is wholly inadequate as currently drafted. 

All the speakers have direct experience of being detained under the Mental Health Act, supporting a loved one to be discharged from detention, or commissioning services that avoid detention. Speakers include: 

• Lisa Perry, who has just settled a human rights claim on behalf of her son who has learning disabilities and autism (see here).
• Alexis Quinn, an autistic human rights champion who works at the Restraint Reduction Network. 
• Jack Moore, a young autistic man who likes reptiles and is building a model of the Titanic. 
• Lucy, one of the Campaign Champions at the Oxfordshire campaigning group My Life My Choice.
• Wendy Ewins, Head of Commissioning and Case Management at Black Country Healtcare NHS Trust who commissions “crash pad” facilities. 

• Dawn Cavanagh, founder of  “Stolen Lives” in Wales. 

The seminar will be co-chaired by Julie Newcombe of Rightful Lives, and Oliver Lewis of Doughty Street Chambers. 

Speakers will suggest more imaginative amendments, such as: 

• A duty on the Secretary of State to ensure the provision of community support services (both housing and care) that prevent the need for admissions to hospitals, including ‘crash pad facilities’; 
• Section 117 to be amended to create a financial incentive for local authorities and ICBs to take timely action to put in place aftercare (including housing and care) to facilitate the discharge of detained patients with learning disabilities and/or autism. 
• A requirement that the Responsible Clinician providing care for a patient with learning disabilities and/or autism has relevant expertise; 
• A requirement for Mental Health Tribunal medical member to be an expert in learning disabilities and/or autism if dealing with a case of a patient with learning disability and/or autism; 
• Automatic referral to the Court of Protection for each patient with learning disability and/or autism who is fit for discharge, with non means-tested legal aid for the patient and their family members; and 
• Mandatory data sharing between NHS England (the only body that knows who the transforming care cohort are) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (or other independent legal body) to coordinate legal action to put in place housing and care that facilitates the person’s discharge from hospital.

Participants may be interested in Oliver’s written evidence to the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, here. 

Please note, in-person spaces are limited and will be prioritised for Parliamentarians and their staff, commissioners of services, people with learning disabilities and/or autism, family members and carers. 

The slides from the 4th March seminar are available here.

 Overview of the Mental Health Bill 2024

Tuesday 21st January 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30, followed by a drinks reception

Location: In-person at Doughty Street Chambers, 54 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LS & on Zoom

On 26 November 2024, the House of Lords held a debate on the second reading of the Mental Health Bill. 

Several members of Chambers have been actively involved in the reforms. In 2018, Aswini Weereratne KC chaired the Mental Health Act / Mental Capacity Act topic group for the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act that led to Prof Sir Simon Wessely’s report. Sophy Miles sat on the topic group on Tribunals and has since trained and written about  the proposals: see her opinion pieces here and here.

Oliver Lewis has been working with NGOs to try and get autistic people and those with learning disabilities out of MHA detention and into the community. In the second reading this week, Baroness Barbara Keeley used two of Oliver’s clients to illustrate the problems, and shared several ideas in his opinion piece: See the recording from 19:59 onwards and Hansard. 

To further contribute to the Bill’s passage, Doughty Street Chambers plans to hold a series of webinars on the Mental Health Bill in the first half of 2025. During the series, Aswini, Sophy and Oliver will be joined by Chambers’ colleague Elizabeth Cleaver and outside speakers. 

The series will be launched at a hybrid event in the evening of Tuesday 21 January 2025 at 18.00hs. This event will be chaired by Associate Anselm Eldergill. Thereafter, four webinars will do a deep dive into (a) admission criteria and the new “nominated person” (b) detention and treatment; (c) autism and learning disability; and (d) the Tribunal and aftercare.

Please fill out the form here to express interest in any of the upcoming events in this series. 

If you have any questions please email events@doughtystreet.co.uk.

Easy Read version of this event description is available here.

The slides from the 21st January event are available here.

The Easy Read version of slides used is available here.

Detention and treatment

Thursday 27th February 2025 | 18:00 - 19:30

Location: Online via Zoom

In the second webinar of this series Sophy Miles and Elizabeth Cleaver will discuss proposed changes to mental health detention and treatment powers with Laura Shapcott, expert by experience.

Sophy Miles was actively involved in the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, which led to Prof Sir Simon Wessely’s report in 2018. She has written and trained on the topic of Mental Health Act reform. Sophy will cover the proposed changes to Part IV of the act (consent to treatment provisions). 

Elizabeth has extensive experience of representing mental health patients and their families. She will discuss advance choice documents and how patients can be supported to set out their views about their care.

Laura Shapcott has lived experience of mental health services, including detention under the Mental Health Act. She now uses her experience to support the development of mental health services, and is employed by a large Mental Health Trust, co-ordinating service user and Carer involvement. Laura will provide her reaction to the proposed changes and how these may impact service users.

The discussion will be chaired by Anselm Eldergill, associate member of chambers and retired Court of Protection judge. Anselm is an expert on Mental Health Law and the author of several leading publications in this area.

The slides from the 27th February webinar are available here.