The Mental Health Bill 2025, introduced to the House of Lords last autumn, has now completed its passage through the House of Commons, having had its third reading earlier this week. It now returns to the House of Lords for some final “ping-pong” so it’s not quite over yet.
I’ve always been focussing on the issues which relate to the police, rather than the Bill as a whole because there are far better brains than mine looking at the wider impact. I’ve followed lots of that discussion and I have my views about things, as you might imagine, but for here, I’m focussed on the police stuff.
A brief summary/update for you –
POLICING
So as the Bill leaves the Commons, here’s where we are on the various policing issues that popped up in the original Bill and whilst amendments to it were tabled, debated and decided upon.
- Section 136 MHA –
- There was an amendment tabled in the House of Lords by former Prime Minister, Baroness May of Maidstone who, with others, argued s136 MHA should be amended to allow the power to be used by various “authorised persons”, including a list of health and social care professionals.
- This amendment in the Lords succeeded so it was there in the Bill when it entered the House of Commons, but it was removed at Committee Stage and it remains out.
- Unless Baroness May attempts again to amend the Bill in this way, it has not succeeded and s136 remains a police-only power.
- Section 5(2) MHA –
- This provision is the Doctors’ power in hospitals so they can hold inpatients for up to 72hrs for a MHA assessment.
- Whilst it is not a policing provision at all, it attracts discussion in policing because of the inability of the power to be used in an Emergency Department. Those of us who attend ED are not inpatients, so the holding power cannot be used there.
- In the House of Commons, an amendment was tabled to allow s5(2) to be used anywhere on the relevant hospital’s grounds, not just in ED; and not only in respect of inpatients.
- The Government indicated they would oppose the amendment and it was withdrawn so s5(2) remains unchanged.
- Section 135(6) MHA –
- The definition of a “Place of Safety” for the purposes of s135/136 MHA will be amended, as the Bill originally intended, to exclude all uses of the police station.
- Section 55(1) MHA –
- The definition of a “Place of Safety” for the purposes of Part III MHA provisions will be amended, as the Bill originally intended, to exclude all uses of the police station – or a prison, which I also welcome.
ROYAL ASSENT & COMMENCEMENT
We don’t know how long House of Lords “ping-pong” will take or when Royal Assent will occur, but in one sense it doesn’t really matter because so many aspects of the Bill will require preparation. It’s not unusual with new laws which bring in big changes, that we see delays after Assent before it’s formally introduced and even the Bill’s various changes being introduced at different times. I suspect, for example, it will be fairly easy to strip out police stations and prisons from s55 MHA, but rather harder to prepare for doing it to s135(6), above.
The more important impacts on policing and the wider emergency services, including EDs, is yet to be fully understood. I suspect the changes to s2/3 MHA where admissions thresholds will effectively rise, the removal of learning disabilities and autism as sole grounds for admission under s3 MHA, will all have a bigger, more subtle impact and we don’t know what that’s going to look like because we don’t yet know what resources will be provided to the NHS and other agencies to make this work.
Form your own view about all this – it’s nearing its end but the singing hasn’t started yet.
Winner of the President’s Medal, the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Winner of the Mind Digital Media Award
All opinions expressed are my own – they do not represent the views of any organisation.
(c) Michael Brown, 2025
I am not a police officer.
I try to keep this blog up to date, but inevitably over time, amendments to the law as well as court rulings and other findings from inquests and complaints processes mean it is difficult to ensure all the articles and pages remain current. Please ensure you check all legal issues in particular and take appropriate professional advice where necessary.
Government legislation website – www.legislation.gov.uk
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