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April 2016 update

Annual Review

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  • Mental Health Law Online was 10 years old on 19/4/16! Celebrate by buying the Annual Review and leaving good feedback on Amazon :-)

Case law

  • Immigration case. R (O) v SSHD [2016] UKSC 19, [2016] MHLO 12 — "The appellant, O, is a woman of Nigerian nationality, aged 38. In November 2003, with her son, then aged three, she illegally entered the UK. In July 2008 she pleaded guilty to offences of cruelty towards her son, who had returned to live in Nigeria, and the court sentenced her to 12 months' imprisonment and recommended that she be deported. On 8 August 2008 her sentence came to an end, whereupon the respondent, the Home Secretary, detained her - at first pending the making of a deportation order and then, following the making of such an order, pending her deportation pursuant to it. O's detention, which was at the Immigration Removal Centre at Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire, continued until 6 July 2011 when, pursuant to a grant of bail on 1 July 2011, she was released. It follows that O was detained at Yarl's Wood for almost three years. The court knows nothing about her circumstances after 6 July 2011 but infers that she has not, or not yet, been deported. ... In the present proceedings, which - chronologically - encompass her fourth claim for judicial review, O challenges the lawfulness of the later period of her detention, namely from 22 July 2010, and in particular from say 4 March 2011, until 6 July 2011. The object of the present proceedings has never been to secure her release, which had already occurred at the time of their issue. The object has been to secure a declaration that the detention was unlawful and, perhaps in particular, an award of substantial damages for false imprisonment. ... O has the misfortune to have suffered for many years from serious mental ill-health. So the appeal requires this court to consider the Home Secretary's policy relating to the detention of the mentally ill pending deportation; and perhaps also to identify the criterion by which the court should determine a complaint that she has failed to implement some aspect of her policy relating to it. Furthermore the Home Secretary is obliged to conduct monthly reviews of whether a person's detention pending deportation should continue. There were, as the Court of Appeal held, defects in the Home Secretary's conduct of the monthly reviews of O's detention between March and July 2011. ... [W]ere O's claim for judicial review permitted to proceed, the result in all likelihood would be a declaration that her detention from 4 March 2011 to 6 July 2011 was unlawful and an award to her of damages in the sum of £1. ... I would dismiss the appeal."§
  • New (corrected) neutral citation number available for this case. LB Southwark v KA [2016] EWCOP 20 — "These proceedings under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 concern a 29 year old learning disabled man, KA, one of five children of a Bangladeshi family. I am asked to make declarations that KA lacks capacity to make decisions as to: (a) Litigation; (b) Personal care and welfare; (c) Sexual relations; (d) Marry. It is common ground that KA does not have capacity to litigate thus the Official Solicitor is his litigation friend."

Ministry of Justice

  • Colin Harnett, 'Changing discharge conditions - residence' (Dear Colleague letter from Head of Mental Health Casework Section, 17/12/15). In response to a case in which the MOJ had not closely managed a patient's movements (it had not registered a change of address), the following policy will apply from 4/1/16: (1) All conditionally-discharged patients will have a condition giving an actual residence address, and RCs will not have a discretion to move patients without providing 14 days' notice; (2) If the tribunal does not specify an address the MOJ will add one; (3) Existing conditions will be re-examined on receipt of conditionally-discharged patient reports and conditions may be amended (to add an address or remove the RC's discretion to move the patient); (4) Discharges by the MOJ will also accord with this policy; (5) Dialogue with the MOJ before the 14-day point is encouraged. See Ministry of Justice#External links

Court of Protection

  • Judiciary website, 'Court of Protection: draft Case Management Pilot Practice Direction' (2/3/16). This web page contains information about, and links to, two draft Practice Directions: "Practice Direction: Case Management Pilot" and "Practice Direction: Section 49 Reports Pilot". Comments on the drafts are invited. The final Practice Directions are expected to come into force in June 2016. See Court of Protection Practice Directions

Events

  • MHLA: Panel course - London, 28/6/16 and 29/6/16. — No results
  • MHLA: Court of Protection conference - Manchester, 24/6/16. — No results
  • MHLA: Intro to Court of Protection - London, 12/5/16 and 13/5/16. — No results
  • NAS: Autism and CJS Conference - Manchester, 18/4/16. — No results

Website and CPD

  • Mental Health Law Online CPD scheme: 12 points for £60. Obtain 12 CPD points online by answering monthly questionnaires. The scheme is an ideal way to obtain your necessary hours, or to evidence your continued competence. It also helps to support the continued development of this website, and your subscriptions (and re-subscriptions) are appreciated. For full details and to subscribe, see CPD scheme.

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