Mary Henry (Independent)

I do not for one instant think the Minister is being specious. I just want him to be sensible. I accept fully that some of the Minister's best friends are psychiatrists and, indeed, the odd sociologist may also be thrown in. However, I do not agree with the Minister. I think the mental disorder definition is sensibly inserted in this section and it would have been much better to follow it in the remainder of the Bill. The interpretation of the definition in this section will lead to people being able to prove there is mental illness when people were perhaps on Librium at the time. The definition in the Mental Health Act is of a much higher standard. I am unenthusiastic about part of section 4, which we will have a chance to discuss later. The Minister alluded to section 3(5)(c) but one of the big problems with it is that a judge can only recommend in-patient care or treatment in a designated centre, whereas the person may not need to be put anywhere. They could be perfectly all right under supervision in the community. Those points are for a later discussion, however.