Yesterday afternoon we passed emergency legislation, introduced into the house and passed in one day, including receiving Royal Assent. This is a relatively rare occurrence. It can only happen if all parties agree to the urgent necessity. The Mental Health (Approval Functions) Bill came about because the Government discovered that 4 out of 10 Strategic…
Lord Crisp is leading a debate tomorrow on the global impact of the five leading chronic diseases — cancer, diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease and mental illness, so called NCDs (non-communicable diseases, to distinguish them from communicable, ie infectious diseases). This follows on from a recent high level meeting of the UN at which the…
I shall be participating in a “Prayer to Annul” debate this evening. This weird wording means a debate raised to protest against a negative statutory instrument. Under the standard negative procedure, the SI is annulled if the prayer motion is agreed by the House within 40 days of the SI being laid. Lord Kirkwood of…
According to The Sunday Times, the Government is planning to change the law so that people who have had certain mental health problems and are presently barred from being elected to Parliament can stand for election. People who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act are barred from standing even if they have made…
I feel rather guilty for not keeping up with my blogging this last few days. I have the excuse I was away ill last week but this week I have been busy two afternoons and evenings with Grand Committee in the Moses Room on the Health and Social Care Bill. The Moses Room is an…
