Subordinate Legislation Committee, 27 Sep 2005

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Official Report 244KB pdf

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Executive Responses

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Mental Health (Certificates for Medical Treatment) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/443)

Item 3 is consideration of Executive responses. On the regulations, the committee requested clarification of whether the reference to page 3 of form T2 in column 2 of both schedules was deliberate or a mistake. It has been pointed out that the reference should indeed be to page 3. However, although we have received the updated, clearer version of form T2, page 3 is not mentioned anywhere on it. I suggest that, for the sake of clarity and to allow people to understand the regulations, we report to the lead committee and Parliament that the fact that the page in question is actually page 3 could be made clearer.

Are members agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

It seems to me that we should make the regulations accessible and understandable.

Members indicated assent.

We will move on then.

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Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2005 <br />(SSI 2005/452)

The committee raised three points on the order. We asked whether the reference in articles 20(4)(a), 25(2)(a) and 29(4)(a) to

"any period of 12 months"

ought to be changed to "the period of 12 months". Although the Executive agrees, it has not indicated when it will undertake to amend the provision. As a result, I suggest that in our report we say that it would be good to know that it will be amended. Likewise, to our question about the use of "if" in article 34(8)(b), the Executive has said that the word should be "of", but it has not said when it will amend the order.

The response was particularly poor, as the Executive has not indicated its intention to put the matters right.

Those points should be included in our report to the lead committee and Parliament.

We also asked whether the reference to "care plan" should be a reference to a "part 9 care plan". According to the Executive, the reference should be to "care plan".

However, that rather proves our point that the reference is not very clear. If our excellent legal advisers were not clear about its meaning, how are users, practitioners and those who read the order supposed to be clear about it?

We should pass those points on to the lead committee and Parliament. Are members agreed?

Members indicated agreement.