MPs to debate mental health plans

Controversial plans to allow mentally ill people to be detained against their will, even if they have not committed a crime, are due to be discussed by MPs. The Mental Health Bill, rejected by the Lords in February, is expected to face heavy criticism in the Commons.

Ministers say the proposals will help to keep the public safe.

But the Tories say the plans will make it easier for people to be detained at a time when the NHS is being forced to close beds in mental health wards. The number of NHS beds for the mentally ill fell from 36,601 in 1997-8 to 29,802 in 2005-6, the Conservatives claim. And, over the same period, the number of formal admissions to NHS facilities rose by 325 to 25,740, they say. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the government's latest proposals would make it easier to have people sectioned, so increasing the pressure on the system. "With more demand on these services, and fewer hospital beds, we will see even more people who should be cared for in hospital instead left in the community," he said.

The bill would allow people with severe or violent personality disorders to be confined if they were judged to be a threat to themselves or others.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said the government had not learned the right lessons from a series of high-profile killings. He added: "Countless inquiries into these homicides tell us that it's the services and access to services that makes the biggest difference - not changing the law."

But Wendy Robinson of the Zito Trust, whose daughter Georgina was killed in 1993 by a psychiatric patient, said she backed the stronger powers in the bill. "So many people have died this last year, and over the last years, because no action has been taken," she said.

In February the Lords voted against the idea of compulsion, saying treatment should be given only if it was likely to help the patient. Conservative, Lib Dem and non-aligned peers jointly tabled a series of amendments to the plans. At the time, Health Minister Rosie Winterton said that the bill "strikes the right balance between getting treatment to those who need it, putting in place patient safeguards and minimising the risk to the public".

The government has been trying to overhaul mental health laws since 1998. It was spurred into action by the conviction of Michael Stone for the murders of Lin and Megan Russell. Stone was regarded as a dangerous psychopath but, because his condition was untreatable, he could not be held under mental health powers. Previous attempts to change the laws have been abandoned in the face of widespread opposition.

Campaigners and doctors have frequently voiced concerns that government plans are too occupied with public safety, rather than the needs of patients. The bill would affect an estimated 14,000 of the 600,000 people who use mental health services each year.