Legislation – Mental Health Act 2025
Miscellaneous
48Removal of police stations and prisons as places of safety
(1)
The Mental Health Act 1983 is amended as follows.
(2)
““place of safety”—
(a)
in relation to a person who is not a child or young person, means any hospital the managers of which are willing temporarily to receive that person;
(b)
in relation to a child or young person, has the same meaning as in the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 except that it does not include a police station;”.
(3)
The amendment made by subsection (2) does not apply in relation to any directions given under sections 35(4), 36(3), 37(4), 38(4) or 45A(5) before the coming into force of that subsection.
(4)
In section 135 (warrant to search for and remove patients)—
(a)
in subsection (6) omit “a police station,”;
(b)
“(za)
a police station may not be regarded as a suitable place;”;
(c)
omit subsection (8).
(5)
In section 136 (removal etc of mentally disordered persons without a warrant) omit subsection (5).
(6)
Omit section 136A (use of police stations as places of safety).
(7)
In section 136B (extension of detention) omit subsection (3).