Mental Health Act 2025

Code of practice

Principles to inform decisions

1

In section 118 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (duty to prepare code of practice, including principles which the person making it thinks should inform decisions under the Act) for subsection (2B) substitute—

(2B) The statement of principles must, in particular, include the principles, and address the matters, specified in the table.

Application of principles to Wales

2

• (1) Section 118 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is amended as follows.

• (2) In subsection (1), for “Secretary of State” substitute “appropriate national authority”.

• (3) In subsection (2)—

• (a) for “The code” substitute “A code prepared under this section”;

• (b) for “Secretary of State” substitute “appropriate national authority”.

• (4) In subsection (2A)—

• (a) for “The code” substitute “A code prepared under this section”;

• (b) for “Secretary of State” substitute “appropriate national authority”.

• (5) In subsection (2C), for “Secretary of State” substitute “appropriate national authority”.

• (6) For subsection (2D) substitute—

(2D) Any person for whose guidance a code of practice under this section is prepared or revised must have regard to the code.

• (7) For subsection (3) substitute—

(3) Before preparing a code under this section or making any alteration in it the appropriate national authority must consult such bodies as appear to the appropriate national authority to be concerned.

• (8) In subsection (4), for “the code and of any alteration in the code” substitute “any code prepared by the Secretary of State under this section and any alteration in such a code”.

• (9) After subsection (5) insert—

(5A) The Welsh Ministers must lay copies of any code prepared by them under this section or any alteration in such a code before Senedd Cymru; and if the Senedd passes a resolution requiring the code or any alteration in it to be withdrawn, the Welsh Ministers must withdraw the code or alteration, and where they withdraw the code, must prepare a code in substitution for the one which is withdrawn. (5B) No resolution may be passed by Senedd Cymru under subsection (5A) in respect of a code or revised code after the expiration of the period of 40 days beginning with the day on which a copy of the code was laid before the Assembly. (5C) For the purposes of subsection (5B) no account is to be taken of any time during which the Senedd Cymru is dissolved or is in recess for more than four days.

• (10) In subsection (6) for “Secretary of State” substitute “appropriate national authority”.

• (11) After subsection (7) insert—

(8) In this section “the appropriate national authority”— (a) in relation to England, means the Secretary of State; (b) in relation to Wales, means the Welsh Ministers.

Autism and learning disability

Application of the Mental Health Act 1983: autism and learning disability

3

• (1) The Mental Health Act 1983 is amended as follows.

• (2) In section 1 (application of Act: “mental disorder”)—

• (a) in subsection (2), at the appropriate places insert—

• “autism” means a lifelong developmental disorder of the mind that affects how people perceive, communicate and interact with others;

;

• “learning disability” means a state of arrested or incomplete development of the mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence;

;

• “psychiatric disorder” means mental disorder other than autism or learning disability;

;

• (b) for subsections (2A) and (2B) substitute—

(2A) For the purposes of this Act, a person’s learning disability has “serious behavioural consequences” if it is associated with abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct by the person.

;

• (c) omit subsection (4).

• (3) In section 145 (interpretation of the Mental Health Act 1983), in subsection (1), at the appropriate places insert—

• “autism” has the meaning given in section 1;

;

• “learning disability” has the meaning given in section 1;

;

• “psychiatric disorder” has the meaning given in section 1;

;

• “serious behavioural consequences”, in relation to a person’s learning disability, is to be read in accordance with section 1(2A);

.

• (4) Schedule 1 amends the Mental Health Act 1983 to—

• (a) prevent people from being detained under section 3 of that Act (admission for treatment) on the basis of autism or learning disability, and

• (b) make related changes in relation to the application of that Act to autism and learning disability.

People with autism or learning disability

4

In the Mental Health Act 1983, after Part 8 insert—