Member

It is worth saying that independent care and treatment reviews are resource intensive. There were 195 people in long-term segregation in November 2024, so this would be a significant new requirement for staff. Through this Bill, we are expanding duties for approved clinicians, second opinion appointed doctors and other experienced workforce groups, who would potentially chair these reviews, so we would need to consider resourcing. Given these practical considerations, we need to carefully consider whether independent care and treatment reviews are the right approach for everyone. We would like more evidence on the impact of the reviews, and my officials have commissioned the CQC to report on this.