Contribution
My Lords, my Amendments 128A and 163B concern the banning of prisons and police cells as places of safety. By way of background, in my report in 2009, which I have previously referenced, I recommended that discussions should immediately commence to identify suitable local mental health facilities as the places of safety, ensuring that police stations should no longer be used for this purpose at that time. That sat alongside the development of mental health and learning disabilities liaison and diversion teams based in police custody suites and the courts, particularly to support the police in dealing with people with these issues. There is now 100% geographical coverage of the country with those teams. A crucial further element was the development of what was called street triage, where mental health nurses sat alongside the police in emergency control rooms or in police vehicles around local communities, again to support and assist the police.
The recent policy, “right care, right place”, is rightly based on the same principles debated on Amendment 37B, moved by the noble Baroness, Lady May. Again, at that time there was growing concern that A&E departments were, and still are, a default position as places of safety, and therefore the need to develop alternative facilities, often located close to A&E departments, often called crisis care units, should be pursued. There is an agreed protocol with the police to hand over the patients for care and assessment to NHS staff in the way advocated now by Amendment 128B, which has already been debated and is a model that I believe should be replicated across the country.
My amendments today are an attempt to galvanise the Government into action to achieve that. Amendment 163B to Clause 53 would require that Clause 46 came into force no later than 12 months after the passing of the Act. Amendment 128A to Clause 46 would require that the Government must publish a report on how they would ensure effective implementation of that section within the timeframe specified. I am again concerned at the lack of clarity in the timeline for the implementation of provisions in this clause. The impact assessment currently does not show an estimated commencement date for the provision in Clause 46, stating instead:
“Departments are working together to ensure there are clear pathways and provision in place to safely enact these reforms and the timeline for implementation will depend on the conclusion of this work”.
Amendment 163B would require Clause 46 to come into force within 12 months of the passing of the Act.
Amendment 128A would require the Government, within six months of the passing of the Act, to publish a report assessing: how they will ensure effective provision of alternative places of safety with adequate capacity and distribution across geographical locations; the availability of remand to hospital under Section 36 of the Mental Health Act 1983; and any plans to extend the use of Section 36 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to magistrates’ courts. Such a report will be crucial to the successful implementation of Clause 46.
Further—and this replicates concerns already expressed in Committee—I am concerned about the lack of reliable data on the use of prisons as a place of safety. The impact assessment references this, noting that there is no
“reliable data on the number of people in prison as a place of safety”.
Without knowing how many people are being held in prison as a place of safety, it would be difficult to ensure adequate alternative provision is in place. This data should be recorded and made available to inform effective implementation of this clause. Perhaps the Minister in response might be able to assure us that this information will be made available to the Committee.
Taken together, the removal of police stations and prisons as places of safety can be successfully introduced in a timely way, which many organisations, such as the Centre for Mental Health—for which I am an ambassador—and the Prison Reform Trust, have a long advocated. I hope the Minister will agree.