The Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2017

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order brings into force provisions in Parts 1 and 2 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015 (“the Act”), in so far as they are not already in force. It also makes transitional and savings provision. The Order specifies two commencement dates: 30th June 2017 and 30th September 2017.

Parts 1 and 2 of the Act introduce various amendments to the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) and the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”). The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the Criminal Justice Act”) is amended by Part 3 of the Act. Sections 40 to 45 of the Act (which make provision in respect of criminal cases to amend the 1995 Act) come into force on 30th September 2017. All other provisions specified in this Order come into force on 30th June 2017.

Articles 3 to 25 make transitional and savings provisions.

By virtue of section 61(1) of the Act, section 17 and Part 4 (sections 61 and 62) came into force on 5th August 2015. Sections 14, 15, 16 and 18 of the Act, which make amendments to chapter 3 of Part 17 of the 2003 Act in respect of detention in conditions of excessive security, came into force on 16th November 2015. Section 37 of the Act creates a duty on the Scottish Ministers to carry out a review of the arrangements for investigating the deaths of patients with mental disorder; section 37 came into force on 24th December 2015. Sections 23(1) and (2), 29, 32, 33, 54 and 58 were brought into force for the purposes of allowing regulations to be made; those provisions came into force on 5th May 2017. The Act received Royal Assent on 4th August 2015.