Member

Sadly, at the moment the Bill is defective, hence my tabling the amendment to the Motion. I recognise that it is not appropriate to divide at this stage, but we have some time before the Bill goes back to the Commons to try to sort out what is, I am informed by AMHPs, still a confused situation. I regret that the experts on the Children Act and the Mental Health Act who supplied an amendment to the Minister’s department did not seem to receive a reply. I hope the Minister will be able to reassure me that statutory guidance can do more than I believe it can. We need to take these final moments with the Bill to protect the thankfully small number of children who are in these most vulnerable situations.