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February 2017 update

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Website

  • Mental Health Law Online CPD scheme: 12 points for £60. Obtain 12 CPD points online by answering monthly questionnaires. The scheme is an ideal way to obtain your necessary hours, or to evidence your continued competence. It also helps to support the continued development of this website, and your subscriptions (and re-subscriptions) are appreciated. For full details and to subscribe, see CPD scheme.

Case law

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Solicitors Regulation Authority

Legislation

  • Legislation. Policing and Crime Act 2017 — Chapter 4 (sections 80-83) of this Act amended MHA 1983 s135 (Warrant to search for and remove patients), s136 (Removal etc of mentally disordered persons without a warrant) and s138 (Retaking of patients escaping from custody), and added new s136A (Use of police stations as places of safety), s136B (Extension of detention) and s136C (Protective searches). In force 11/12/17. The text of the Act on MHLO has been updated accordingly (note that there are errors on the Legislation.gov.uk website: some of the old text has not been deleted).

Law Society

  • Mental health accreditation scheme. (1) A new accreditation application form has been published (dated 17/2/17). The main changes are the removal of question 20 ("Please state the number of CPD hours attributable to mental health related courses that you have undertaken") and a new professional development statement (referring to "Learning outcomes", "Category of learning and relevant competence" etc). (2) A new re-accreditation application form has been published (dated 20/2/17). The main change is a new format for each year's Professional development training record. See Law Society mental health accreditation scheme

Department of Health

  • Updated DH contact details for seeking tribunal references. The current details are as follows. Department of Health, Mental Health Legislation, Area 226, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS. Email: mentalhealthact2007@dh.gsi.gov.uk Fax: 0115 902 3211 or 0207 451 7978. Tel: Matthew Lees , MHA Policy lead (020 7210 5774), Gillian Baker , MHA Policy Manager (0113 254 6787) or Rose Cofie (020 7210 5548). See MHA 1983 s67

Legal Aid Agency

  • Link added to Government website: EC-CLAIM 1: escape fee case claim form. "Forms and checklists to submit escape fee case claims under the 4 different categories." The following documents are relevant to mental health law: (1) LAA, 'EC-CLAIM 1 MH: escape fee case claim form - mental health' (v8, April 2015); (2) LAA, 'Escape claim checklist - mental health' (v1.4, September 2016). See Legal Aid forms
  • Legal Aid Agency, 'Headline intentions for civil legal aid contracts from April 2018 (20/1/17). The LAA anticipate the procurement process for 2018 contracts is likely to start in April 2017, with services commencing on 1/4/18. Details of the process can be found in the document. It states the following in relation to mental health law: "We intend to change the case requirements under the current mental health supervisor standard to increase the number of tribunal cases to be evidenced from 5 to 10. We also intend to introduce a secondary route for supervisors that supervise a mixture of tribunal work and mental capacity work. Supervisors following this route will need to evidence 5 tribunal cases and 5 mental capacity cases. All supervisors following either route will additionally need to evidence 2 non-tribunal mental health cases. We also intend to limit the number of hearings where representation can be conducted either by counsel or an agent who do not carry out contract work for the provider for at least 14 hours per week. The Law Society is currently developing and implementing specialist panel accreditation for Mental Capacity (Welfare) Cases. Once introduced we wish to use this panel accreditation as the basis to restrict authorisation for Court of Protection work to offices with at least one accredited individual who is actively involved in delivering this work. We intend to implement this at the earliest practical opportunity and further information will be published once details of the accreditation scheme and implementation timescale are clearer." See Legal Aid#2018 contract

Ministry of Justice

  • Ministry of Justice, 'Transforming our justice system: assisted digital strategy, automatic online conviction and statutory standard penalty, and panel composition in tribunals: Government response' (Cm 9391, February 2017). In the consultation document it was proposed to amend the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal (Composition of Tribunal) Order 2008 to give the Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) "greater freedom to adopt a more proportionate and flexible approach to panel composition", by (a) providing that a tribunal panel in the First-tier Tribunal is to consist of a single member unless otherwise determined by the SPT; and (b) removing the existing requirement to consider the arrangements that were in place before the tribunal transferred into the unified system. Following the consultation, the government will proceed with proposal (b) as the existing requirement is "an unnecessary restriction to the SPT to base decisions on what is the most appropriate and proportionate approach", but will not proceed with proposal (a) because of concerns arising from "the assumption that this will apply in all cases" (although it appears that this concession is not intended to make any difference in practice). To this end, the Order will be amended so that that "the SPT may provide that a panel should consist of one, two or three members, as required, in order to determine the matters before the tribunal justly and fairly". The consultation response envisages that the SPT will consult with both the tribunal judiciary and wider stakeholders before making any changes to panel composition. See Ministry of Justice, 'Transforming our justice system' (consultation from 15/9/16 to 27/10/16)

Cardiff University

Mental Health Law Reports

  • Mental Health Law Reports. Kris Gledhill has kindly provided short summaries of 24 cases from 2016. The full reports can be purchased from Southside Online Publishing. See Text:MHLR 2016

Other

  • Peter Edwards Law, 'The Signpost' (February 2017). See Newsletters
  • Aasya Mughal and Steven Richards, 'Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Case Law Summary 2015-17' (26/1/17). See Newsletters#Edge Training
  • Daily Telegraph, 'Ian Brady begins "unique" High Court fight over tribunal lawyer' (14/2/17). See Ian Brady

Events

  • COPPA: Costs in the Court of Protection - Bristol, 22/2/17 — No results
  • Law and Compassion Research Network: Symposium on Law, Compassion, and Healthcare - London, 18/5/17 — No results
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