Debate contribution: Mental Health Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Debate contribution by Mr Mike Nesbitt on 9 September 2025.

MLA

Mr Mike Nesbitt

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

9 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Mental Health Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5086381

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. The Mental Health Bill introduced in the UK Parliament in November last year reforms the Mental Health Act 1983, which governs compulsory detention and treatment in England and Wales. That Act is the equivalent of our Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. This Bill enhances patients' autonomy, tightens detention criteria, increases review frequency and removes prisons and police stations as places of safety. None of those measures will extend to Northern Ireland, but, today, we address an amendment extending specific provisions to this place. That amendment seeks to address a gap in Human Rights Act 1998 protections for mental health patients following the 2024 England and Wales High Court ruling in the case of Sammut v Next Steps Mental Healthcare Ltd. The amendment would ensure that private providers delivering certain mental health services, when funded or arranged by public bodies, are subject to Human Rights Act obligations. Although health and social care are devolved matters, the Assembly cannot directly amend the Human Rights Act, which is a reserved matter that requires the Assembly's consent for Northern Ireland application. Therefore, this legislative consent motion (LCM) is the only mechanism to extend the protections, and, without it, Northern Ireland risks disparities in human rights protections compared with the rest of the United Kingdom. I will move to the detail of the amendment. Specifically, to remove any doubt on the matter following the Sammut ruling, the amendment designates private providers as exercising public functions under section 6(3)(b) of the Human Rights Act when providing aftercare services post detention and voluntary inpatient treatment or health assessments. As I mentioned, although no private inpatient providers currently operate in Northern Ireland, the amendment future-proofs us should private inpatient services of that type that are publicly funded or commissioned open here in the future. That will ensure that they are held to the same human rights standards as in other UK jurisdictions. That aligns with the Bamford principles by enhancing patients' rights and dignity while ensuring uniformity and accountability. The UK Government's Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with my Department to align the amendment with Northern Ireland's mental health framework, particularly its aftercare provisions, and I thank officials for their engagement. Consultation has been led by the Department of Health and Social Care. My Department has engaged the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and awaits its response. The amendment enjoyed cross-party support in Westminster, with no Northern Ireland-specific concerns having been raised in parliamentary debates. The Health Committee supports the legislative consent motion in principle, and its report has been shared with the Westminster Bill team. My Department's screening shows no adverse equality or rural impacts but shows benefits for patients through enhanced private provider accountability. It is my assessment that the amendment promotes equality by extending European Convention rights and protections to mental health patients regardless of provider type. Failure to support the motion would exclude Northern Ireland from the protections. Approving the motion will demonstrate our dedication to a rights-based mental health system, align with our legislative framework and uphold Bamford's vision. Furthermore, it will ensure, beyond doubt, that private providers that provide services on behalf of public authorities are accountable in the same way as public authorities are at present. I commend the legislative consent motion to the House and urge Members to support it.

564 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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