Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandatory training for (a) psychiatrists, (b) psychiatric nurses and (c) social workers on legal obligations under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 requires local social services authorities and National Health Service commissioners to provide or arrange for the provision of aftercare to adults or children detained in hospital for treatment under section 3, 37, 45A, or transferred under section 47 or 48 of the Act who then leave hospital. No assessment of patients is required to determine whether they are eligible for s117 aftercare although professionals would of course be expected to work with a patient to understand their individual needs.

There are no plans at present to introduce any such mandatory training or require mandatory recording of the number of people eligible for section 117 who local social services authorities and NHS commissioners have responsibility for.