Senedd ‘sidelined’ by Westminster mental health law

Important changes to mental health laws in Westminster are “sidelining” the Senedd, a group of politicians says.

They say a Welsh government decision to rely on the UK parliament “undermines” devolution and limits Senedd members’ (MSs) influence over polices.

Patients going through a crisis will no longer be held in police cells under the UK Labour government’s Mental Health Bill.

The Welsh government says it will create “a coherent system of rights across Wales and England”.

Devolution gives the Senedd powers to legislate, or create laws, for certain policies, including health.

But the Welsh government can also ask Westminster to legislate on its behalf.

The Senedd is being asked to approve of the bill applying to Wales by passing a legislative consent motion (LCM).

Votes on LCMs happen after a debate in the chamber, but the process is much quicker than passing made-in-Wales bills which can take months.

The Senedd’s legislation, justice and constitution committee says it “has the effect of sidelining the Senedd as a legislature” and preventing MS from “having an opportunity to scrutinise legislation and seek changes, often based on issues raised by, and the experiences of, their constituents”.

Westminster bills should only change devolved public health policies in “exceptional circumstances such as an emergency”, it says in a report on the LCM.

“We consider that the Welsh government’s decision to use a UK government bill to legislate for Wales in relation to mental health, which excludes the Senedd as a legislature and from engaging with stakeholders in Wales, undermines devolution,” it adds.

Health minister Sarah Murphy said the reforms “modernise mental health legislation to give patients greater choice, autonomy, enhanced rights and support, and ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect throughout treatment”.

“There is a significant amount of cross-border provision of mental health services between Wales and England,” she said.

“Not making provisions in this Bill risks increasing divergence between services available in the two countries.”

Government sources say they worked with the UK government on this “complex” bill to avoid a “fragmented approach”, with different policies in Wales and England.

The Welsh government said it had received the report and was “considering its contents before responding in due course”.

In a separate report, the Senedd’s health committee says opportunities for MSs to scrutinise the Mental Health Bill are “extremely curtailed”, but that it saw no reason to block the LCM.

LCM votes are largely symbolic because they do not legally tie the hands of the Westminster parliament.

By convention the UK government will “not normally” legislate in devolved areas without the Senedd’s permission.

But the cross-party legislation committee has repeatedly complained about legislation bypassing the Senedd. Relying on UK bills creates a “democratic deficit”, it has said previously.

On Wednesday (9 April) it was confirmed that the Senedd will face an LCM vote on a bill to legalise assisted dying.