HM Government

Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans for an independent review of mental health legislation and practice to tackle the issue of mental health detention.

There have been concerns that detention rates under the Mental Health Act – passed more than 3 decades ago – are too high. The number of detentions has been rising year on year. Last year on average there were 180 cases a day where people were sectioned under the terms of the act.

The Mental Health Act sets out rights and obligations that govern when and how the state can detain and treat someone in relation to their mental illness. It includes specific provision for individuals in contact with the criminal justice system.

People from black and minority ethnic populations are disproportionately affected, with black people in particular being almost 4 times more likely than white people to be detained.

The review will be chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, a former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It will seek to address concerns about how the legislation is currently being used, and give recommendations for improving practice in the future.

The review will look at existing practice and evidence. It will consider the needs of service users and their families, in order to tackle injustices and improve how the system supports people during a mental health crisis.

In particular, the review will consider:

• why rates of detention are increasing – what can be done to reduce inappropriate detention and improve how different agencies respond to people in crisis

• reasons for the disproportionate number of people from certain ethnic backgrounds, in particular black people, being detained under the act, and what should be done about it

Following consultation with stakeholders, Sir Simon will produce an interim report identifying priorities for the review’s work in early 2018, and develop a final report containing detailed recommendations on its priorities, by autumn 2018.

The review is part of a set of measures to improve mental health provision and tackle what the Prime Minister has described as the ‘burning injustice’ of mental illness.

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Next week (10 to 15 October 2017) the 7 female entrepreneurs will travel to Boston, Massachusetts on an international entrepreneurial mission, hosted by Innovate UK, Digital Catapult and the British Consulate General Boston.

The mission will help the women better understand and access international markets. It coincides with HUBweek 2017, the city’s festival for the future where artists, innovators and creators come together to support collaboration for innovation.

Meet the founders

All of the companies selected are innovating in human and machine interaction, such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things and virtual and augmented reality.

The female founders are:

• Claire Spencer, CEO of Data Solver, which provides privacy-by-design management software that will help businesses comply with the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
• Kriti Sharma, CEO of Lumi, which is a virtual business assistant that uses AI to help users manage admin, finance, HR and IT tasks
• Louise Doherty, CEO of PlanSnap, a social planning app that allows users to create and invite people to opt into your plan, regardless of whether or not they are on the app
• Nicole Blyth, Founder of RelocateGuru, which is designed to help the nearly 1 billion people who relocate to a new town or country every year to find friends and get local tips, advice and recommendations
• Christine Boyle, CEO of Senergy, which has developed the world’s first nanocomposite solar thermal panels. These can be manufactured and installed at 50% lower cost than existing metallic solar collectors
• Samrien Hussain, Director of Tick Tock Unlock, an immersive entertainment company that designs, builds and operates escape game venues. Future plans include supplying virtual reality experiences to other venues and launching a free-roaming product
• Diane Douglas, CEO of Vigiles is developing augmented and merged reality gamified mobile apps to improve health and safety awareness. Its first product is a fire safety app for young people in student accommodation

The businesses were chosen by a panel of judges. This was made up of Priya Guha, Ecosystem General Manager of RocketSpace, Guy Pattison, CEO and Strategy Director at Long Run Works, Sabine Hauert, President and Co-founder of Robohub.org, Natasha Lytton, Head of Marketing and Communications at Seedcamp, and Marija Butkovic, Founder and CEO of Women of Wearables.

Louise Doherty, CEO of PlanSnap.

The programme

During the mission there will be opportunities for delegates to:

• better understand the challenges and opportunities in the US
• meet and pitch to potential customers, investors and partners
• gain insight into new markets for human-machine interaction
• hear from international thought leaders
• learn how to develop a market-entry strategy
• take part in practical workshops and get mentoring support to improve pitching
• network with other entrepreneurs in the same field

They will also get the chance to get involved in UK government’s GREAT campaign, which is designed to showcase the best the nation has to offer, to encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in the UK.

About infocus

Our infocus programme is designed to support and empower people who are currently under represented in business innovation by providing them with the resources, advice and self-belief to succeed.

This mission is the latest activity being run under the infocus women in innovation campaign. Through this campaign we aim to remove some of the barriers and get more women in the UK innovating.

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Transport Secretary Chris Grayling today (October 4 2017) opened a new north-west rail academy which is due to train 500 apprentices over the next 5 years.

Thousands of extra rail apprentices will be needed in the coming years as the network grows rapidly, and the government is investing £1 billion in the Great North Rail Project up until 2020.

The Alstom Academy for Rail in Widnes, Cheshire, is due to take on 20 new apprentices this autumn, and offer further 30 apprenticeship places to current Alstom staff. The numbers will rise to 135 by 2021.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Our rail network is growing and I have been clear we will need thousands more people working in the sector in the years ahead.

I’m delighted to open Alstom’s top class new Rail Academy will help train up the next generation of talent.

We are investing £13 billion in transport across the north and there are some great, rewarding careers working on our railways.

The Alstom Academy for Rail will be giving young people and mature employees a rounded education and will work with other education providers to deliver its apprenticeship programs. Students will take engineering classes at local colleges such as Riverside College and then learn rail specific skills at the academy.

Nick Crossfield, Managing Director at Alstom UK & Ireland, said:

Today we celebrate a fantastic new industrial facility for the UK, and even more importantly, our first intake of new apprentices.

In year one the Alstom Academy for Rail will train 20 apprentices, 5 of whom have been taken on to help repaint the iconic Pendolino trains right here in Widnes.

It is a particularly proud moment for us to welcome the Secretary of State to see our progress on that project, because it demonstrates how transport contracts can deliver real jobs and training on the ground.

Not just creating a better railway, but also building a new generation of highly skilled railway engineers.

The training that students undertake will include safety and maintenance of vehicles such as Alstom’s Pendolino trains which are used on the West Coast Mainline, or the Citadis trams that are used in Nottingham.

Alongside the academy, Alstom are repainting 56 Pendolino trains next to the training academy in their train modernisation facility, for use by Virgin on the West Coast Main Line.

The team is 80-strong and includes 5 new apprentices who will work on the project.

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Remember to avoid repeating actions when submitting claims in CCMS as this could lead to a delay in your payment being processed.

Duplicate outcomes

You should submit all the case outcomes in CCMS for all proceedings covered by the legal aid certificate before preparing your final bill.

If you submit further or duplicate case outcomes there is likely to be a delay in payment of any claim. This is because the case outcomes need to be processed before the claim.

Case outcomes and claims cannot be dealt with at the same time because they are separate processes in CCMS.

The system will not release your claim for processing until all case outcomes have been dealt with, including any duplicate case outcomes. So, unnecessary duplicates will cause delays.

Detailed guidance for submitting an outcome is available on the CCMS training website.

Repeated document uploads

Upload supporting documents once only when these are requested by CCMS.

Repeating a document upload means delays to the processing of your claim because:

• you are spending longer than necessary working in CCMS
• we are spending longer checking your documents

Detailed guidance is available on uploading documents into CCMS – see below.

Further information

CCMS training website: closing cases and submitting bills – guidance on completing outcomes and uploading documents for claims submitted in CCMS

CCMS training website: navigation in CCMS

Civil processing dates

Submitting case ‘outcomes’ and prompt payments – GOV.UK news story 9 March 2017

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The Prime Minister has announced the intention to launch a public consultation on increasing rates of organ donation. The proposals will include a new opt-out system for organ donation for England. The consultation will be launched by the end of the year.

In 2016 to 2018 there were 1,169 deceased organ donors and 3,293 transplants in England. While this was the highest ever rate of organ donation, there are still more people waiting for transplants than there are organs available. It means some people die before a suitable organ becomes available.

There are particularly long waiting times for those in black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Consent rates for organ donation are also low in these communities, at around 35% compared to 66% in the white population.

Under the current system, anyone wishing to donate their organs has to opt in via the registration and organ donor card scheme run by NHS Blood and Transplant. A family member can also agree to the donation of organs if the person had not made their wishes known.

The consultation will outline ways to increase rates of organ donation and propose a new approach where every person would be deemed to have given consent to unless they choose to opt out. It will run for 12 weeks.

The Department of Health will seek views on:

• how government can increase rates of organ donation, particularly from BAME communities
• how the issue of consent should be managed within the NHS
• what role technology could play in helping people to discuss their preferences with family
• how opt-out could work in practice, what safeguards would be necessary, and how families could be supported

There is currently a severe shortage of suitable organs, with around 6,500 people currently on transplant waiting lists. Every day up to 3 people die while waiting for an organ to become available.

Last year just over 6% of deceased donors were from black and Asian communities, with people waiting on average 6 months longer for a kidney transplant than a white patient. Work is already underway to address the fact that consent rates for organ donation in these communities are lower than in the white population. This will continue alongside the consultation.

The government will carefully consult, listen and take account of the views of people from a diverse range of ethnic, religious and cultural communities when considering any changes to the law.

A model of ‘presumed consent’ was introduced in Wales in 2015 and the Scottish government announced its intention to introduce similar legislation earlier this year.

Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt said:

Too many people still wait too long for an urgent transplant and we must urgently address this. Just as most people would be willing to accept an organ if their life was at risk, most people would be willing to donate one to help save somebody else.

All these issues will be looked at in the consultation and we welcome all those with views to come forward with their contributions.

Full details of the consultation will be released later in the year. The government is seeking a wide range of opinions and asks anyone with a view to take part.

If you would like to receive updates on this issue please sign up to our organ donation mailing list.

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