Mental Health Bill [HL]

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

Report stage
Monday 31st March 2025 Lords Chamber

I urge the Minister to support these important amendments, to ensure that there are essential protections for people with a learning disability and autism, and to redirect resources towards humane, community-based care.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, I rise to speak very briefly to the issue of people with autism and learning disabilities being detained in hospital. Clause 3(4) amends the Mental Health Act to prevent people being detained under Section 3—in other words, for six months—if they have autism or learning disabilities. Should this not also be preventing detention of people with autism and learning disabilities at all, and certainly for 28 days, for example? Limiting this restriction to Section 3 is unhelpful for people suffering with these disabilities. This is a small point to raise with the Minister.

[Lord Crisp (CB)]

My Lords, I have added my name to one of my noble friend Lady Hollins’s amendments on community services and to four of those on long-term seclusion. I will speak very briefly to each topic.

On community services—I also support my noble friend Lord Adebowale’s amendment on this issue—I understand the Government’s concerns about timing and, presumably, costs, but I believe nevertheless that the Bill should provide legislative pressure to deliver community services for autistic people and people with learning disabilities. There is little point in using the Bill to set out a new legislative framework for this group if this does not include some notion of a plan or timetable, and it is highly likely that the service will simply fall back into the established patterns of non-therapeutic containment if this is not included.

I fully endorse the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Browning, about the Autism Act. As one of the witnesses to the autism committee recently said, this is a pretty good law, but where is the action? Where is the implementation? That is the point, and we need some reassurance on a plan being forthcoming within a reasonable timeframe.

On long-term seclusion, I suspect that most members of the public would be surprised to know that what amounts to, in some cases, solitary confinement—I use that pejorative phrase deliberately—is used for such long periods in our institutions. We are talking about 15 days at a time and potentially more than that, over the course of a month, if there is a break between the 15 days and the next 14 days, for example. We should be particularly concerned about what happens out of sight in these institutions, where what should be a very rare occurrence at best can become all too easily routine.

These amendments open this long-term seclusion to greater scrutiny and control. They may not prevent it happening altogether, but they will help to make it a rarer occurrence. I refer in particular to two amendments, neither of which I have my name against—that is my mistake rather than anything else. Amendments 3 and 53 both refer to the code of practice and require that if people are kept in long-term seclusion for 15 days, or indeed the majority of 30 days, there will be clear monitoring and subsequent active intervention to take account of that. They are entirely reasonable amendments and do not raise funding, timing or any other issues. They are about ensuring proper scrutiny of what is happening to vulnerable people in some of our institutions.

In saying that, I am reminded of reading the report from Blooming Change, a young people’s organisation. I quoted the report at Second Reading, and it describes problems with safety and quality. There are descriptions of being injured during restraint, being drugged and restrained, and being scared all the time. It includes the terribly sad quotation:

“‘hospital makes you worse’… going into hospital with one problem and then leaving with trauma, new behaviours, new diagnoses, assaults, PTSD – it’s awful.”

We ought to be able to ensure that the code of practice for long-term seclusion is adhered to and that where it is not, it is properly investigated.

Mental Health Treatment: Waiting Times

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I can confirm the commitment of the Government to parity of esteem between mental and physical health services, as was outlined in our first programme of legislation confirmed in the King’s Speech. It will have absolute regard in all the areas the noble Baroness refers to. I know she is aware that I cannot comment specifically on spending reviews, but all that will be announced publicly in due course.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, ADHD affects lots of children and, though treatable, it is often not treated. Can the Minister assure the House that treatment for ADHD will increase substantially to ensure children can get back to school and get on with their studies?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

It is important that children with ADHD receive the right education and the right support. We are working with the Department for Education to make sure that happens.

Drug-related Deaths in England and Wales

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Our continuing work in this area is part of the Office for Life Sciences programme. This Government continue to fund research into wearable technology, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, all in a bid to support people with drug addictions. Since coming into office, we have awarded £12 million to projects across the UK that are showing innovation in respect of technology, because we want to support people with addictions.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, what steps are the Government taking to support vulnerable children in schools who, without support, are likely to become addicted to drugs, in order to ensure that they reduce the numbers of drug deaths?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I assure the noble Baroness that education on drug use is an essential part of harm reduction and prevention. It is a statutory component of relationship, sex and health education.