Member

My final point relates to Amendment 132. It is very sensible to expand the legal duties of the independent reviewing officer for the reasons that we have heard. An independent reviewing officer is important, but it is not quite the same as having advocacy. Another key feature, certainly, of the Mental Health Bill that we toiled under for many a long evening was ensuring, particularly for 16 to 18 year-olds who were detained under the Act or involved in an offence in some way, that they all had access to some form of advocacy on their behalf. Can the Minister say what the current arrangement is or what plans the Government have to ensure that this small but terribly, deeply vulnerable group of children actually has the advocacy they need.