View source for December 2010 update

==Website/CPD==
*CPD questionnaires have been added for all months up to and including December 2010. For £50 you can earn 12 CPD credits online. See <span class="plainlinks">[http://mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/cpd/ CPD scheme]</span> for further details. 

*See [[December 2010 chronology]] for this month's changes to the website in date order.

*On 31/12/10, the website had '''889''' [[Mental health case law|categorised cases]]

==Cases - summaries added==
*{{pagesummary|Public Interest Lawyers v LSC (2010) EWHC 3277 (Admin)}}
*{{pagesummary|Re P (Scope of Schedule A1) (2010) COP 30/6/10}}
*{{pagesummary|Seal v UK 50330/07 (2010) ECHR 1976}}
*{{pagesummary|R (SP) v SSJ (2010) EWCA Civ 1590}}
*{{pagesummary|AG's ref (nos 37, 38 and 65 of 2010) sub nom R v Khan (2010) EWCA Crim 2880}}
*{{pagesummary|R v Maynard (2010) EWCA Crim 2854}}
*{{pagesummary|SSWP v SS (DLA) (2010) UKUT 384 (AAC)}}
*{{pagesummary|R (Khela) v Brandon MH Unit (2010) EWHC 3313 (Admin)}}
*{{pagesummary|Re Freeman (2010) COP 7/9/10}}
==Cases - transcripts added==
*{{pagesummary|Re KS (2010) COP 99162476}}
*{{pagesummary|Re MM; City of Sunderland v MM (2011) 1 FLR 712}}
*{{pagesummary|R (Faulkner) v SSJ (2010) EWCA Civ 1434}}
*{{pagesummary|Perrins v Holland (2010) EWCA Civ 1398}}
*{{pagesummary|R v Dunn (2010) EWCA Crim 2935}}
==Cases - other==
*Summary of settled case added. Negligence claim concerning inappropriate dosage of lamotrigine settled for £450,000 (including £60,000 general damages) with liberty to apply for future damages. Information from: Alexandra Johnstone, 'Damages for Negligent dosage of Lamotrigine', RadcliffesLeBrasseur MH Law Briefing 160, December 2010. See [[Settled cases and forthcoming judgments]]

==Legislation==
*The Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010 received Royal Assent on 15/1/10. {{pagesummary|Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010}}
==Legal Aid==
*On 17/12/10 the LSC published details of the outcomes of each of the main civil tender processes, including for the mental health SHA tender and HSH tender. These documents list each firm and the number of matter starts awarded to them, sorted by procurement area; the lists may change as contract validation is still ongoing and some contracts are yet to be issued. The five firms for Ashworth are: Peter Edwards Law (125 matter starts), Duncan Lewis & Co (108), Jackson & Canter LLP (30), RMNJ Solicitors (30), Swain & Co (30). The five firms for Broadmoor are: Scott-Moncrieff, Harbour & Sinclair (120), Blavo & Co (94), Burke Niazi Solicitors (40), Gledhill Solicitors (30), Wolton and Co (30). The six firms for Rampton are: Scott-Moncrieff, Harbour & Sinclair (110), Cartwright King (96), Switalskis (75), Burke Niazi Solicitors (40), Donovan Newton Solicitors (30), Peter Edwards Law (30). Using totals across SHA procurement areas, the largest firms in the SHA tender are: Duncan Lewis & Co (3262), Blavo & Co Solicitors (2910), CMHT Solicitors (1305), Cartwright King (1155), Switalskis (860), Peters & Co (804), Guile Nicholas (759), Dozie & Co (732), Peter Edwards Law Ltd (710), Andrew Markham & Co (702), Scott-Moncrieff Harbour & Sinclair (653), Burke Niazi Solicitors (606), Thaliwal Bridge (581), Corper Solicitors (519), RMNJ Solicitors (506). See [[Legal Aid News]]

*The LSC published 'Civil Tenders Update' on 13/12/10. In relation to the mental health JR it is stated that 'In the Public Interest Lawyers case, a wide range of challenges were made relating to the Mental Health and Public Law tenders. The majority of grounds of challenge were abandoned before the final hearing and others apart from one were rejected by the court.' This is misleading: the LSC lost both on verification and the general disability equality duty. Apparently most of the remaining challenges arising out of the 2010 tender process relate to individual tender or appeal decisions and are therefore unlikely to affect other contracts. See [[Legal Aid News]]

*LSC news item 'Civil legal aid, bank statements and wage slips' published on 7/12/10. A reminder that in some circumstances, bank statements and wage slips are required for Legal Representation. See [[Legal Aid News]]

*The LSC published their Annual Report and Accounts for 2009-10 on 30/11/10. See [[Legal Aid News]]

==Other documents==
*New Tribunal Practice Statement added. {{pagesummary|Practice Statement: Delegation of functions to staff on or after 2 November 2010 (2/11/10)}}
*The Office of the Public Guardian published 'In The "Best Interests" Of Us All: The Public Guardian Board’s Annual Report 2010' on 8/12/10. See [[Office of the Public Guardian]]

*On 24/11/10 the Dept of Health updated their 'Section 67 of the Mental Health Act' document, to clarify which Tribunal form should be completed when requesting a reference under s67(1). See [[Department of Health]]

*Links to articles added: Jerome Taylor, 'Secretive court opens doors to journalists', Independent 9/12/10 and Leading article, 'A wall of secrecy around our courts is crumbling', Independent 9/12/10. On 8/12/10 Hedley J ruled that the media should be permitted to attend a hearing related to the [[A Primary Care Trust v P (2009) EW Misc 10 (EWCOP)]] case. See [[Mental health law in the media]]

*The MoJ is consulting on 'Breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders' from 7/12/10 to 4/3/10. These proposals 'aim to break the destructive cycle of crime and protect the public, through more effectively punishing and rehabilitating offenders and reforming the sentencing framework'. The proposals in relation to managing offenders with mental health problems are as follows: 'We want to ensure that our valuable resources are targeted on the people who are committed to changing their lives and being rehabilitated. In some cases, the criminal justice system is not the best place for them. This is particularly the case for offenders with mental health problems. We propose to: (a) work with the Department of Health and the Home Office to pilot and roll out liaison and diversion services nationally by 2014 for mentally ill offenders; and (b) increase the treatment capacity for offenders who present a high risk of harm where this is linked to severe personality disorders.' See [[Consultations#Ministry of Justice]]

*The MoJ published 'A Platform for the Future' on 30/11/10, a consultation running until 25/2/11 about the proposed merger of Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) and the Tribunals Service. See [[Consultations#Ministry of Justice]]

*The Department of Health updated their list of IMCA organisations on 19/11/10. See [[Independent Mental Capacity Advocate service]]

*The Office of Fair Trading is consulting on 'Mental Capacity Guidance' for creditors, relating to the issue of mental capacity as it impacts on borrowing decisions, from 6/12/10 to 4/3/11. See [[Consultations#Office of Fair Trading]]

*News item on NMHDU website: Invitation to participate in focus groups (for IMHA review), 1/12/10. See [[Department of Health#Research]]

*The Mental Health Tribunal in England have published their 'Office Hours Over Christmas/New Year 2010/11'. The secretariat will be closed on Friday 24/12/10, in addition to the Bank Holidays (Monday 27/12/10, Tuesday 28/12/10, and Monday 3/1/11); on other days the office hours remain 0900-1700. See [[Mental Health Tribunal]]

[[Category:Updates]]