Member

I am afraid to correct the Minister, but I had understood that it is already mandated in law, in Section 28 of the Mental Health Act, that when there is a special guardianship order and a child arrangements order, living with, there is no discretion. It does not matter the surrounding circumstances, and it does not matter whether these people wish; it is mandated that they are appointed and deemed the nearest relative, to the exclusion of everyone else. There are no issues, that I have been made aware of, of people being unwilling to act as that nearest relative, or different circumstances. If the AMHP is presented with that situation, what is the solution? Is it to second-guess the court order or, within 24 hours, to go to the family court and get the special guardianship order or the child arrangements order—that is to live with—amended? I am assured by AMHPs that, unlike many of the other lists in the county court, you actually get heard within 24 hours or so, because of the urgency.