Mental Health Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Kamall and Lord Davies of Brixton

Report stage
Monday 31st March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My Lords, these amendments in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Howe are really amendments from my noble friend Lady May, who unfortunately cannot be in her place today. As my noble friend told the House in Committee, when she was Home Secretary, a recurring concern raised by police officers was being called out to situations where they were expected to determine whether someone was at the point of crisis and what should happen to that individual. As we know, that usually meant taking the individual to a police cell as a place of safety—an issue that is addressed in other parts of the Bill. But police officers continue to be concerned that they are asked to deal with something for which they have no, or insufficient, training or knowledge.

As my noble friend reminded the House, a police presence is also often not good for the individual, as not only is that individual not being given the healthcare support they need, but the presence of an officer in uniform coming to deal with them could exacerbate their mental health situation. Even if the police officer is able to get somebody to a hospital, they might still be required to sit with an individual to make sure they do not harm themselves or others. My noble friend Lady May cited the Metropolitan Police’s evidence to the Joint Committee on the draft Bill, where it gave an example of a patient in A&E who was required to be guarded by eight Metropolitan Police officers over 29 hours to prevent them being a high-risk missing person.

In its letter to the current Secretary of State, the National Police Chiefs’ Council was concerned that the law as it currently stands

“arguably views mental health through the lens of crime and policing related risk, which raises … issues including disproportionality in the criminal justice system, discrimination, adverse outcomes for people suffering with poor mental health as well as increasing stigma attached to mental health”.

I make it clear that, although this amendment removes the statutory demand for the police to be the primary responders to incidents of mental health where there is an immediate risk to life or serious injury, the police will still have a role to play.

The amendments specify that the authorised person attending an individual should be

“trained and equipped to carry out detentions”

and should not be

“put at unnecessary risk by carrying out those functions”.

This is in line with the College of Policing’s 2019 mental health snapshot, which found that almost 95% of calls that police attend that are flagged as a mental health response do not require a police response.

The Minister will be aware that, in the joint Home Office and Department of Health review and survey of Sections 135 and 136 powers, 68% of respondents agreed that all or part of Sections 135 and 136 powers should be extended so that healthcare professionals could use them, provided that they were not putting themselves at risk. Paramedics in particular supported a change, with more than 90% agreeing and more than 60% strongly agreeing.

However, this is not just about the interests of the police and healthcare professionals. More importantly, we need to focus on the individual at the point of mental health crisis. They deserve the right response, the right care and the right person.

I note that the Minister, in our conversations—I appreciate her giving forewarning of this—discussed how the amendment as it stands appears to give the police more powers. I discussed that with my noble friend Lady May before I came to the Chamber, and she was surprised at this and said that it was somewhat disappointing, given the constructive meetings that the Minister and my noble friend have had, and given that the Metropolitan Police said that they were supportive of this move when my noble friend met representatives last year.

There is clearly a difference of opinion here, and we appreciate that we need to find a way forward. I know that my noble friend Lady May is open to discussions with the Minister to ensure that the principle behind these amendments is met. Could the Minister give a guarantee to meet my noble friend and that, following these discussions back and forth, she will be able to bring back an amendment at Third Reading?

The fundamental principle remains unchanged: the role of police in detentions under the Mental Health Act must be reduced, and it must be reduced for the patients’ and the workers’ benefit. If the Government can accept the principle but not necessarily the precise wording, I hope that the Minister will be able to give the assurances that I and my noble friend Lady May have asked for. I am afraid that, if the Minister cannot give the assurance that she can bring forward an amendment at Third Reading, having had discussions with my noble friend Lady May, we will have to test the opinion of the House. I hope that the Minister can help to find a constructive way forward with my noble friend.

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

I am extremely pleased that the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, has moved his amendment for the Opposition. I will not be voting for it, but I am pleased that it has been moved because in Committee I moved amendments along the same lines.

I know that my noble friend the Minister agrees with the suggestion that there is a challenge here for the Government—she told me so. This issue is not going to go away, and it would be a constructive way forward for there to be a meeting—I would ask to be included in any such meeting. We are clear about where we want to get to, and that the appropriate phrase is “right care, right person”. I do not think that that is currently being delivered, so something needs to be done. I hope that we can move to a better system, in a constructive way.

Mental Health Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Kamall and Lord Davies of Brixton

Report stage
Monday 31st March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

I want to express my support for the amendment from my noble friend Lord Bradley, because in Committee I had a parallel amendment that dealt with a similar issue. I very much agree with what the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler of Enfield, said about locating specific responsibility for getting people through the system. In this area, time is absolutely of the essence to avoid crises and worsening mental health states. So I strongly support the thought behind my noble friend’s amendment, and I hope the Minister can help us by showing that the problem is understood and that the Government see it as a priority to resolve the problems that undoubtedly occur at present.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My Lords, I will speak briefly to Amendments 38 and 40. One of the things about being a politician is that when you say things, you cannot hide. When the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, told me he was about to quote me in his contribution, I thought, “Oh no, what have I said now?”, so I am grateful to him for warning me and not being too harsh on me. As other noble Lords have said, this is an eminently sensible amendment, and I hope we will get a positive response from the Minister.