Clause 55
Mental Health Bill [Lords]
5:30 pm
Tim Loughton (Shadow Minister (Children), Health; East Worthing and Shoreham, Conservative)
I usually try to put something into the last clause of a Bill. The Government have just taken out something without explaining why, but we shall pass that by. There is already a Mental Health Act 1983 and a Mental Health Act 1959, and my experience of dealing with legislation on children during the past few years is that a lot of Acts either have the title “Children Act” or have the word “children” somewhere in the title. I wonder why the Bill cannot be called the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill, given that it is a Bill to amend the 1983 Act rather than a Bill in its own right. That would at least distinguish it when people are referring to different parts of the mental health legislation.