Mental Health Act 1983
(as amended)

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Law as at 19/11/11

Part VIII contents

114, 114A, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125

All Parts

I, II, III, IV, 4A, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, Schedules

Overview of the MHA 1983
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Statute Law Database

Notes

See After-care.

This section is affected by clause 37 of the Health and Social Care Bill 2010-11. For Mind's proposed amendment and briefing materials, see Mind (Charity).

Change made by Mental Health Act 2007

• Supervised Community Treatment replaces Supervised Discharge 3/11/08

Related cases

Any cases with a hyperlink to this legislation will automatically be added here. There may be other relevant cases without a hyperlink, so please check the mental health case law page.

• DM v Doncaster MBC (2011) EWHC 3652 (Admin) — DM sought to avoid the care home fees for her husband FM who was subject to the deprivation of liberty safeguards: the main argument was that the s22 National Assistance Act 1948 charging provision did not apply because the DOLS created a duty to accommodate within the meaning of s21(8). The court held that: (1) the MCA 2005 did not create either a duty or power to accommodate FM; (2) FM fell within the terms of s21 NAA and was not excluded from its scope by the operation of s21(8); (3) s3 HRA 1998 gave no reason to read down s21(8) to reach any other conclusion; (4) FM's accommodation had thus to be paid for by him or on his behalf, in accordance with s22 and regulations made under it; (5) this is not discriminatory upon an application of Article 14 read with Article 1 of Protocol 1 (FM was not materially in the same position as those who receive after-care under s117 MHA and the State would in any event have offered sufficient justification for the result); (6) ..→
• LGO decision: Bath and North East Somerset Council 06/B/16774 (12/12/07) — Duties under s117.

• LGO decision: Medway Council 06/B/12248 and Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council 06/B/12247 (29/4/08) — After funding under s117.

• LGO decision: North Yorkshire County Council 05/C/13158 (24/7/07) — After funding under s117 (top-ups).

• LGO decision: Poole Borough Council 06/B/7542 (5/9/07) — Duties under s117.

• R (Baisden) v Leicester City Council (2011) EWHC 3219 (Admin) — Section 117 and accommodation. [Summary required.]

• R (IH) v SSHD (2001) EWHC Admin 1037 — Section 73 is compatible with Article 5 ECHR: deferred conditional discharge is a provisional decision; the Tribunal can monitor progress, and reconsider and amend the decision if appropriate.

• R (Mwanza) v LB of Greenwich (2010) EWHC 1462 (Admin) — The claimant was an illegal overstayer who tried to use a s3 admission eight years earlier to obtain free accommodation. (1) An after-care service under s117 must be a service that is necessary to meet a need arising from a person's mental disorder. It does not cover any and all services simply because those services do or may prevent deterioration of relapse of a mental condition. Employment and ordinary accommodation are common needs which do not arise from mental disorder, although mental disorder may give rise to a need for assistance in finding them. However, as a matter of law, ordinary accommodation could fall within s117, although it is difficult readily to envisage any practical examples. (2) On the facts, there could be no duty under s117 to provide what was sought. (3) In any event, eight years earlier a lawful decision had been made to discharge the s117 responsibilities of the local authority and the Trust, so no s117 duty arose. (4) Furthermore, it would be ..→
• R (Stennett) v Manchester City Council (2002) UKHL 34 — S117 is not a gateway section; it contains no charging provision; therefore, no charge should be made for after-care under that section, including for caring residential accommodation.

See also

• Reference Guide to the Mental Health Act 1983, 24. After-care under section 117 — chapter 24
• Mental Health Act 1983 Code Of Practice for England, 27. After-care 250
• Ordinary residence

Law

After-care

117.—(1) This section applies to persons who are detained under section 3 above, or admitted to a hospital in pursuance of a hospital order made under section 37 above, or transferred to a hospital in pursuance of [a hospital direction made under section 45A above or] a transfer direction made under section 47 or 48 above, and then cease to be detained and [(whether or not immediately after so ceasing)] leave hospital.

(2) It shall be the duty of the [Primary Care Trust or] [Local Health Board] and of the local social services authority to provide, in co-operation with relevant voluntary agencies, after-care services for any person to whom this section applies until such time as the [Primary Care Trust or] [Local Health Board] and the local social services authority are satisfied that the person concerned is no longer in need of such services[; but they shall not be so satisfied in the case of a [community patient while he remains such a patient.]]

[(2A) [...]

(2B) Section 32 above shall apply for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of Part II of this Act.]

[(2C) References in this Act to after-care services provided for a patient under this section include references to services provided for the patient—

(a) in respect of which direct payments are made under regulations under section 57 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 or section 12A(4) of the National Health Service Act 2006, and

(b) which would be provided under this section apart from the regulations.]

(3) In this [section "the [Primary Care Trust or] [Local Health Board]" means the [Primary Care Trust or] [Local Health Board], and "the local social services authority" means the local social services authority, for the area] in which the person concerned is resident or to which he is sent on discharge by the hospital in which he was detained.

Amendments