Mental Health Act 1983

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 7:07 pm on 11 July 2017.

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Photo of Daniel Poulter Daniel Poulter Conservative, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich 7:07, 11 July 2017

My hon. Friend is making some thoughtful and good points about the extra resources that are going in to support people with a mental illness. On section 136 powers, the mental health professional who accompanies the police is often a nurse, and they do not have powers to section people. A section 12-approved doctor who accompanies the police, however, does have powers to section people, and the same is true under sections 2 and 3 of the Mental Health Act. I think that is where my hon. Friend Sir Paul Beresford is coming from.