Mental Health Act 2007

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Mental Health Act 2007 [1]
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to amend the Mental Health Act 1983, the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to mentally disordered persons; to amend section 40 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and for connected purposes.
Citation 2007 c 12
Introduced by Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary of State for Health (Commons)
Lord Warner, the Department of Health and the Home Office. [2] (Lords)
Dates
Royal assent 19 July 2007
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Mental Health Act 2007 (c 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It amended the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It applies to people residing in England and Wales. [3] Most of the Act was implemented on 3 November 2008. [4]

Contents

It introduced significant changes which included:

Controversy

During the Act's development, there were concerns expressed that the changes proposed by the Mental Health Bill were draconian. As a result, the government was forced in 2006 to abandon their original plans to introduce the Bill outright and had to amend the 1983 Act instead. [7] Despite this concession, the Bill was still defeated a number of times in the House of Lords, [8] prior to its receiving Royal Assent.

As of 2010, the Green Party supported a reform of the Mental Health Act in order to remove transgender people from the Psychiatric Disorder Register, which they view as discriminatory. [9]

In Labour's 2024 Manifesto, they stated that the "Mental Health Act discriminates against Black people who are much more likely to be detained than others," and that they will "modernise legislation to give patients greater choice, autonomy, enhanced rights and support, and ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect throughout treatment." [10]

See also

References

  1. The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 59 of this Act.
  2. "Bills and Legislation - Mental Health Bill 2006-07". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  3. In Scotland, these matters are covered by the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and in Northern Ireland, by Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, which has been amended by The Mental Health (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004.
  4. 1 2 Mental Health Act 2007: key documents from Department of Health website. accessed 14 November 2008
  5. "Approved Mental Health Professional replaces Approved Social Worker". 23 December 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  6. Mental Health Act 2007 Accessed 14 November 2008
  7. "Mental Health Bill 'to be axed'". BBC News. 23 March 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  8. "Ministers lose mental health vote". BBC News. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  9. "Greens to launch LGBT general election manifesto". Green Party. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. "Build an NHS fit for the future". The Labour Party. Retrieved 14 June 2024.