Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Mental Health Bill will (a) protect and (b) enhance the rights of (i) children and (ii) young people who are (A) detained in and (B) admitted informally to mental health hospitals.

The forthcoming Mental Health Bill will strengthen the rights of children and young people, to ensure they are involved in decisions about their care, that they can challenge these decisions and, above all, ensure that they are only detained for treatment in hospital when it is absolutely necessary. NHS England is working to minimise the number of children and young people informally admitted to inpatient mental health care.

Subject to the passage of the Bill through Parliament, it is proposed that children and young people formally detained under the Mental Health Act will have statutory Care and Treatment Plans, the right to choose a ‘Nominated Person’ to look after their interests and expanded access to Independent Mental Health Advocates. The latter will also apply to voluntary patients who are not detained under the Act.