The Mental Health (Specified Persons' Correspondence) (Scotland) Regulations 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision with respect to the power under section 281 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 13) (“the 2003 Act”) for postal packets sent to or by detained patients to be withheld by hospital managers. The patients must be specified persons in terms of regulations made under section 281(9) of the 2003 Act.

Regulation 3 adds the Scottish Information Commissioner to the list of persons in section 281(5) of the 2003 Act from whom postal packets sent by a specified person may not be withheld and whose postal packets sent to specified persons may not be withheld.

Regulation 4 obliges hospital managers who withhold a postal packet to take all reasonable steps to make the patient aware of the right under section 283 of the 2003 Act to apply for a review of the decision to withhold the postal packet and to ensure that the patient can make use of independent advocacy services in connection with any such application.

Regulation 5 provides for the intimation to the hospital managers of an application to the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland to review the decision to withhold a postal packet. The managers have fourteen days from receiving notice of the application in which to produce the relevant item, that is the postal packet or anything contained in it, to the Commission.

Section 281(8) of the 2003 Act provides that the power to withhold a postal packet includes the power to withhold anything contained in such a packet.

Section 281(9) of the 2003 Act provides that “postal packet” has the meaning given by section 125 of the Postal Services Act 2000 (c. 26).