Clause 32
Mental Health Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Tim Loughton (Shadow Minister (Children), Health; East Worthing and Shoreham, Conservative)
For clarity——if I may have your attention, Lady Winterton, I point out that we have come to the last of the big six areas of amendment in the Lords that many hon. Members might like to speak on: community treatment orders. There are many amendments and some new clauses in five different groupings. I do not know whether you were going to allow a clause stand part, because there is a big matter of principle with community treatment orders, beyond the specific amendments. The first four amendments, including the one dealing with the two lines that I should like removed, are smaller, technical amendments that rely on the conditions already attached to CTOs remaining in the Bill, although the Government will seek to take those out.
I am happy to speak briefly to amendments Nos. 63 and 65—and a lot of what I shall say pertains to amendments Nos. 64 and 66—and then to have what will effectively be a clause stand part debate as part of the discussion on the Government amendments Nos. 23 onwards, which deal with the matter in more general terms. It might be helpful for the Committee if we focused all our bigger guns on that central part, rather than having a clause stand part debate at the end. If that would be helpful, I should be happy to go along with it.