The Act
3.The Act’s overarching objective is to help people with a mental disorder to access effective treatment quickly and easily. The on-going monitoring to which the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) was subject to identified some aspects of the legislation which were not operating as efficiently and effectively as had been intended. To address these matters this Act amends provisions within the 2003 Act and some related provisions in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”). The Act also makes provision, through amendments to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, for the introduction of a notification scheme for victims of mentally disordered offenders.
4.A more detailed explanation of the Act’s purpose can be found in the Policy Memorandum, this also explains the thinking and policy intentions that underpin it.