Govt moves on Mental Health Act - gives credit to UNISON

Press release here detailing Government amendments to the Mental Health Bill which represent significant movement and go a long way to meeting campaigners' legitimate concerns in a number of areas.

UNISON along with other trade unions are specifically mentioned as having made representations to the Government (on the issue of Supervised Community Treatment).


So far as I can tell, the Mental Health Alliance put up a statement welcoming these changes, then took it down again and then put one back up saying, amongst other things:

Our members will welcome the fact that the Government has begun to listen to and act upon the concerns of the people who live and work with the Mental Health Act. We hope that today’s changes mark the beginning of a new government approach to this issue that will lead to a genuine consensus before the Bill becomes law.

We believe that the Government and the Mental Health Alliance can still work together to deliver a new Act that is defensible and workable.

Is this the opening of a genuine era of co-operation breaking out? Given the Tories and Liberal Democrats have their minds seriously set on mauling the Government (of course that is the role of opposition parties, so I'm not criticising them for that) I harbour some doubts - we may be in for a very long ping pong.

The Mental Health Alliance is still wanting exclusions which are, in my view, patronising toward LGBT people and suggests that in some way being lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans is a mental illness. We all know this isn't the case, so the exclusion is unhelpful as it suggests the opposite.

Firstly being of one sexual orientation would never be able to meet the stringent tests contained in the Mental Health Act for compulsory admission, secondly because the law in Council of Europe countries on sexual orientation and gender identity is actually very clear and thirdly because UK legislation is explicit in recognising the legitimate existence of LGBT people (examples including Civil Partnerships, Gender Recognition, protection from discrimination in employment, goods and services and in the exercise of public functions - including acts under the Mental Health Act and finally the Bill contains 'fundamental principles' including non-discrimination and the least restrictive alternative.

Empty scaremongering versus equality

But at the same time some of the professional groupings in the Alliance (especially Psychiatrists) could do a lot more to promote services that are supportive to LGBT people and do more to challenge discriminatory attitudes that still abound in psychiatric practice.

No, not trying to lock you up for being gay but not really listening to you either, or not creating a safe environment for LGBT people (staff and clients) to be out or always seeing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity as the case of their mental distress, even when it has nothing to do with it.

Rather than joining in the scaremongering we should be demanding that as professionals in charge of NHS care we start to put our own house in order.

For the Government's pages on LGBT equality in the NHS (the Department of Health's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group) with some fantastic material the Government is producing on sexual orientation and gender identity.

There's some really great stuff there, but as we all know getting it put into practice when discriminatory attitudes go very deep is the real challenge. So in addition to all of the Government's other progress in dealing with discrimination, there is an urgent need to extend the equality duty to cover all strands of equality inlcuding sexual orientation and gender identity.

Bid to reverse same sex marriage in Massachusetts fails

News just in.

Lawmakers in Massachusetts have voted 45 to 151 to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment. It had already received votes in one session and needed votes in a second to be placed on the 2008 ballot (there only need to be 50 votes in favour in two sessions to allow the amendment to go to ballot). The next opportunity to place the question on the ballot will be 2012.

You can see the news here.

The bid to kill off the amendment was supported by the leaders of both Houses and the State Governor Deval Patrick.

Some really good pictures of the day here.

Single Equality Act proposals now out

These have just been made public by the Government.

The full proposals can be seen here and the press release is here.

The consultation will last until the 4th September 2007.

In addition the Government has published the proposals to add protection against discrimination in goods and services on the grounds of gender reassignment, by way of regulation under the European Communities Act.

Much of the reaction to the proposals is somewhat muted at the moment. TUC, Equal Opportunities Commission, Disability Rights Commission,

There are no clear proposals at this stage for an equality duty acorss all strands of equality or for harmonising provisionson harassment.

It will obviously be important to make sure there are forceful voices pushing the Government to use this once in a generation opportunity to actually deliver a lasting legacy, a step change in creating a more equal society, with the promise of real change.

Time to Vote!!

Labour's deputy leadership election is now in full swing.

If you are a member of the Labour Party (well duh....) or a member of a trade union and pay the political levy you have a vote (as well as members of Socialist Societies - including LGBT Labour) you will have the chance to vote. The elction is divided into three sections, each of which has a third of the final vote (MP's, MEP's; Party members; affiliated trade union members and socialist societies).

Please use your vote(s)!!

It is vital for ordinary people to be able to have a say and that is why the Labour Party is set up in the way it is, allowing millions to have a say in the elctions for Leader and Deputy Leader.

(I should say at this point that I would have wanted to have had an election for Leader - but not an artificially created one with a candidate who needed people to nominate him just to get him on the ballot (even if they had no inention of voting for him and didn't think he'd be any good as a Prime Minister) - what would have been the purpose of that?).

So now it's time to get voting!!

I am supporting Peter Hain (this may by now be a statement of the "bleedin' obvious" but it's good to let everyone know where you stand). I think he has fought a good campaign, has solid values and will be a real asset as a Deputy Leader in ensuring that we establish a genuinely progressive agenda that will sustain a progressive government over a fourth term.

He has a good basis of support from Trade Unions, a genuinely radical past (in the Anti-apartheid movement), good ministerial experience (notably in Northern Ireland), a clear commitment to equality and human rights (again his clear determination to bring in equality laws against stiff opposition in Northern Ireland) and a clear sense of direction as to how Labour can make a difference in government to ordinary working people.

If you are voting for another candidate please use your second preference vote for Peter Hain (the winner is unlikely to be elected on 1st preferences alone and the second preference only comes into play when your preferred candidate has been eliminated).

Remember:

1. Voting is by preference (1,2,3 etc) if you use a cross it won't count
2. You don't have to use all of your preferences - preferences are only used if your preferred candidate is eliminated
3. If you are using a union or socialist society vote remember to tick the declaration box to say you support the Labour Party and aren't a member of another party (or your vote won't count)
4. Vote by returning your ballot paper in the envelope provided or to the address on the ballot form (if you lose the envelope you can still vote.......) by the closing date.

If you want any more reasons to vote for Peter Hain you will find them aplenty on Lou's Blog or of course, Peter Hain's campaign site.

Campaigning on the Mental Health Bill

A good example of some of the exaggerations that are being put about concerning the Government's plans form the website for 'Black Information Link' with my comments added in parentheses.

"The Bill includes provision to:

- allow anyone to be detained and medicated against their will even if they will not benefit from treatment.

Not true. The law will broadly operate as now. To be detained to hospital you have to have a serious mental health problem which is not amendable to treatment by your GP, local community mental health and home treatment teams. An appropriate treatment will have to be available.

- allow anyone can be forcibly medicated against their will within their homes.

Absolutely not true. There is no provision for forcible treatment in people's homes unless in emergency situations. People who have been discharged from hospital under Supervised Community Treatment (a small number of people as opposed to "anyone") are amenable to being brought back to hospital if unwell and given medication.

- allow practitioners to restrict the lifestyle and behaviour of those anyone who has had contact with the services.

Not true, though the wording used by the Government in the legislation has led to some confusion and would benefit from being clarified. There are, though, no plans to restrict people's lifestyle and behaviour.

- Extend doctors powers to detain patients against their will to other professions

Not true. Only certain doctors will be able to detain (as now) under the Mental Health Act. The Bill will, however, allow other professionals (only if they meet cartain competencies) to be the responsible clinician, allowing them to renew detention (subject to certain safeguards). This will allow people to move away from the medical model of psychiatry where everyone has to be under the care of a Consultant Psychiatrist, but, if approriate (and perhaps with a degree of patient choice) have a nurse, Occupational Therapist or Psychologist as their responsible clinician.

I think it is really good that the Government has to justify any proposals in the field of mental health law and that there is the widest possible degree of involvement and criticism from community groups and, yes, in some areas the Government needs to reflect and seek ways of improving the legislation.

However it is most unfortunate that some campaigners (no doubt with the very best of intnetions) are proceeding by means of half truth and exaggeration to raise fear and anxiety around the proposed legislation, making sensible criticism and debate almost impossible and seeking to create long term mistrust of mental health services which can only be harmful in the long run.

Declaring for Hain

Labour's Deputy Leadership election is now well and truly under way.

Having given deep thought as to who to support and of course consulting others (especially Louise) I have finally reached a view and will be voting for Peter Hain.

It's quite difficult to choose from a field of 6 candidates where many have different things to offer.

In the end however it was a combination of Peter's anti-apartheid work in the past, his work in Northern Ireland - including the introduvtion of the sexual orientaiton regulations ahead of the rest of the UK that made the difference. His manifesto speaks of a positive renewal for the Labour Party including trade unions and affiliated organisations and the need to broaden Labour's appeal so we can rebuild a movement around progressive ideals.

Here is Peter Hain's website. The link to his "manifesto" can be found here.

There's also an excellent site for Trade Unions affiliated to the Labour Party with pages dedciated to the Deputy Leadership elections here.

Freedom of Assembly

Reports from Moscow of public disturbance and the arrest of two Western MP's and of Peter Tatchell when trying to hand in a request for a Pride March to take place.

This is in clear breach of clear rulings form the European Court of Human Rights on the freedom of assembly and expression, important given that Russia is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Coverage can be seen:

On the BBC, Times (UK), New York Times.

Mental Health Bill

There continue to be a build of press stories attacking the Government's Mental Health Bill.

Meanwhile, the Mental Health Alliance which is in some disarray as 5 key organisations (UNISON, Amicus-CPNA, RCN, BAOT/COT and the British Psychological Society) representing a number of disciplines (Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists...) and a large majority of mental health professionals have suspended their membership over (see also here for the full press release) the Mental Health Alliance's failure to represent the diversity of opinion of its membership - especially on the issue of renewals of detention where a non-medical professional is the lead clinician involved in a patient's care.

Of course there are always two ways of looking at everything. My own view, though, is that not everything in mental health should be built on the medical model and that many service users could do really well with a nurse, OT or psychologist in charge of their care. There are of course no guarantees, but the chance for service users to develop strong working relationships with their clinicians and inclusing disciplines where the focus can be less on medicaiton and more on social and psychological aspects has to be something we should be supporting in a modern mental health service.

Also the Observer has printed my letter in response to this story which is very much slanted towards the Mental Health Alliance slant on things, though the story (actually heart rending reading) really seems more in support of the Government's plans (they also included a correction stating that Scotland wouldn't be covered by the Bill). There has been so much misinformation in the media exaggerating the impact of the bill in a quite irresponsible way that many people have a completely unrealistic view of what the Government is proposing. I really do start to worry about the impact that all of the MHA's campaigns will be having on scaring people away from seeking help form mental health services which would be a great diservice to people who may need help from mental health services. We all have a responsibility in this area.

The text of the letter is as follows:

We all feel for mentally ill people not receiving the care they need ('Did my sick husband have to die in jail?', News, last week). But I am far from sure that the conclusions this article seeks to draw - that the new Mental Health Bill for England and Wales would inevitably make things worse - were justified by the story.

First, this tragedy occurred in Scotland under legislation which opponents of the government's plans for south of the border hold up as a better guarantee of patients' rights and want to replicate.

Second, the article seems to imply that people who breach their community treatment order in England and Wales will be committed to prison. If true, this would be deeply alarming, but it isn't. Patients who are unwell can only be brought back to hospital.

The mental health campaigners trying to stop the government's bill are actually trying to hold up powers that may in some cases be necessary in keeping people safe while they are unwell.

Craig Nelson
Nottingham

The legislation has now completed its committee stage. There are still a number of issues the Government has said it is considering and the next stages are Report and Third Reading and then ping pong to see how many changes are accepted by the Lords where the Tories and Liberal Democrats are working together on the bill.

Again, there are many areas where the Mental Health Alliance is acting in a well inentioned way and on several areas I support their point of view. They just need to gain a little more balance and realise that in the area of mental health a certain amount of moderation and aherence to accuracy should be observed.

UK government supports LGBT rights worldwide

Government Minister Ian McCartney has published (on IDAHO or should that be IDAHOBIT? - International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) a really good statement on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website pledging to work against discrimnination worldwide, especially countries who criminalise same sex acts and use either the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Its an excellent statement which can be accessed here. But it's so good I include it in full....

On the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) Foreign Office Minister Ian McCartney today affirmed Britain’s commitment to the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality. Announcing the development of a new UK strategy on international LGBT rights he said:

'We have taken a lead in ending discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the UK. But elsewhere the picture remains bleak. More than 70 countries totally prohibit consenting same-sex relations, and nine countries punish them with death, denying people their basic human rights. Every year hundreds of LGBT people are killed simply because of their sexual orientation. Some by State execution; many more while the State looks on indifferently. Many thousands more live in fear of persecution. Human rights belong to everyone. Sexual orientation cannot be a qualifying factor.

'The Foreign and Commonwealth is developing a strategy for promoting and protecting the human rights of LGBT people overseas. This year sees the 40th Anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act in the UK, which began the decriminalisation of homosexuality. We can mark this milestone by speaking up for those millions around the world who are branded as criminals simply for being who they are. I look forward to working in partnership with NGOs and other stakeholders to develop our strategy.

'LGBT people have struggled to gain recognition of their human rights internationally. Many states refuse even to consider these issues and strive to keep them off the international agenda. Millions of our fellow human beings live in societies still blighted by stigma, prejudice and shame. Their suffering is unseen and unheard. These will be difficult issues to raise, but we must speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.'

In an addition to efforts on decriminalisation there are 5 other areas where UK action can make a difference:

• non-discrimination in the application of human rights;
• support for LGBT activists and human rights defenders;
• health and health education;
• raising LGBT issues at international / multilateral institutions;
• and bilateral engagement with key countries.

Equally Ian is due to speak at the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights AGM on Saturday 26th May at 3pm at an open meeting (the AGM business itself is from 1pm till 3pm for members and affiliates) and will address the issue of international LGBT issues as well as agreeing to answer questions.

If you're in London at the time, why not drop in? Its at the UNISON building, Mabledon PLace, London (by St Pancras/Euston).

Brown - Prime Minister elect

News just in. John McDonnell has finally conceded that it is mathematically impossible for him to obtain the magical 45 nominations needed to stand against Gordon Brown for leadership of the Labour Party. See the latest on BBC News

And Scotland?

Just a few thoughts on the Scottish results.

Apart from all the difficulties over the voting process (which has probably killed PR for UK elections) I have a few thoughts.

Firstly I think we shouldn't exaggerate the result. All this doom and gloom about the imminent demise of the Union ( see for instance this rather insulting peice in the Independent and this gloomy scenario in the Times), which I actually find to be in rude health.

I don't think we can realistically expect Scotland to elect the same Government in perpetuity - it needs to be able to throw out the current lot in favour of someone else - at some point that is going to happen and that's what democracy is all about and that party couldn't be the Lib Dems (they're a coalition partner and part of the Government with Labour) and can't be the Conservatives who have not been able to rebuild after being wiped out in the 1990's and are still seen as tainted as well as being traditionally anti-devolution.

So here we are with the SNP with a 1 seat advantage. The majority of parties and voters are against having a referendum on independence, so that's not likely to come close to rearing its head. They're not likely to get a bill through any of its Parliamentary stages.

Yes, Alex Salmond can posture and gesture against a London based Government. It will be an irritant, but the other parties can pull the rug on him when it suits them - as any minority Government is always vulnerable to a confidence vote or to a defeat on the budget.

Also - yes, there is the SNP as the biggest party. Yes, the Executive is likely to have no majority of its own. But that's not so bad. It means the budget gets passed and all other laws are voted on by their merits - including private members bills. Its not unlike the situation in the US where Congress doesn't necessarily pass the laws proposed by the President. They seem to get by reasonably well and if voters are unhappy they can vote differently in another election. Democracy - and voter choice - in action (well for those whose vote actually got counted).

Also not a bad idea for a precedent to be set in favour of having a minority administration - all this obsession with forming coalitions is a little unhealthy and means that the smallest parties have inordinate power over the biggest.

So overall I've decised to be relaxed about all of this. It's democracy in action and we should welcome it. There'll be no referendum, unless there is a majority in the Scottish Parliament for that, which I don't foresee happening anytime soon.

So let's all relax and just let them get on with it - and be proud of the fact it was a Labour Government which delievered devolution in the first place and be pleased that voters are making it work for them.

To use a fabled term from the past (with not entirely positive resonances I admit) "Crisis? What Crisis?".

ECHR ruling on freedom of assembly

A unanimous ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in favour of the organisers of Warsaw Pride event, upholding the right to the freedom of assembly.

The link can be found on the ILGA website. The ruling is not too long and is well worth a read.

It s a very interesting and forthright ruling and has made a ruling that has applicability for all countries of the Council of Europe (including EU countries such as Latvia and countries such as Russia) as well as strengthening an already impressive ECHR case law on issues of sexual orientation. I also anticipate it will have an impact on the law regarding peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in general, which Governments will have to adhere to.

On a similar note ILGA -Europe has launched a campaign on freedom of assembly, seeking wxpressions of support from , amongst others, mayors and leaders of councils.

Also on the ILGA website, news and links about recent European Resolutions on Homophobia in Europe.

Finally, this may be of some interest. Here is the website for 'GenderDoc-M', the LGBT organisation in Moldova where permission for a Pride event has been denied, in spite of a ruling from the Moldova Supreme Court. Also contains a link to an expression of support from Ken Livingstone.

Elections, elections, elections.....

First of all, good news from Nottingham where Labour won the election, gaining all 3 seats in my own ward (taking one from the Tories) and with a net gain of 4 seats overall.

That island of good news (as well as Labour retaking Leicester Council and gaining seats in York) was somewhat overcast by results elsewhere, especially in Scotland, Wales and the rest of England.

Hmmm

Well it certainly is true that Governments in power lose local elections. It happened under the Conservatives and under previous Labour administrations (including spectacular losses in the 60's and 70's - the BBC has a good page of recent local election reversals, which is quite instructive). A bad performance in local elections doesn't always mean losing the next General Election.

The Labour Party won in Nottingham for a number of reasons - first of all recognising that we would lose the election if we didn't do something radically different. Secondly by pulling out all the stops in the campaign. The Lib Dems complained that Labour won because of union support (I can't see it did much good any where else). The truth is that there was a well run campaign which started just after the 2005 election and a number of individuals putting in a phenomenal amount of work as well as a lot of people working hard on the day.

So I do not think that the next election is lost, but it will be a hard fight. The Scottish vote is very portentious of new developments and I will blog about that at some later point.

And to add to the general depression, tonight the French look likely to elect Sarkozy - if all of the opinion polls are correct (and I do mean all .... there will be some seriousl explaining to do if Segolene Royal wins, though I earnestly hope she does).

Day One of the Sexual Orientation Regulations

With little media coverage the Sexual Orientation Regulations covering the provision of goods and services enters into force today.

It is anticipated that the regulations will be incorporated into the new Single Equality Act, due later this year, with the proposals being worked up by the Discrimination Law Review and is due to report in May - no doubt their work has been much delayed by all of the controversy over the sexual orientation regulations....

The link to the regulations is http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20071263.htm

First two days of the mental health bill

The Government is now proceeding apace with the reversal of the Lords' amendments to the Mental Health Bill.

The amendments were voted by Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in line with a campaigning organisation called Mental Health Alliance. The "Alliance" includes any organisation that matters, speaks for all professionals, all service users, all carers, has a complete harmony amongst its 80 organisations. Apparently. So there is no need for any mental health organisation to put any thought into mental health matters as the MHA speaks authoritatively on behalf of all its members at all times. All the thinking has been for you and all there is left for you is to agree.

Now I don't want to be over harsh. I certainly respect where the MHA (though probably not the Conservatives) are coming from, and on some of the issues they are either raising entirely legitimate concerns or have ideas that deserve to be taken seriously.

However they have tended to exaggerate and over simplify making it very difficult to have a sensible debate at all.

Day one of the committee saw the Government reverse the amendment on exclusions from mental disorder (including sexual orientation, political and cultural views etc). The Government's argument is that as these are not mental disorders it would be strange to exclude them as if they were and would muddy the waters considerably.

I am sure the Government are right in this. In particular I note contributions from Chris Bryant:

I can see several reasons, therefore, why it might seem intrinsically a good idea for the Bill to contain the proposed exclusions. However, on sexual orientation in particular, it seems bizarre that we would want to cover it in the Bill. We should assume that nobody believes that somebody’s homosexuality is a reason for them to be sectioned. We should make that assumption, together with the assumption that nobody should be sectioned for their political, religious or cultural views [.....]

That is why, despite understanding the reasons why people might wish to include them, I find the exclusions patronising and therefore inappropriate. I also believe that they would be a legal nightmare. The person who does not want to be sectioned, and whose lawyer says that his claim to be God is a religious belief, will be able to advance that argument before the courts. That gives a much more complicated set of decisions to the courts than would be appropriate.

And the Minister (Rosie Winterton) put it very well when she stated:

As I said, including something that is not a mental disorder in a list of exclusions of mental disorders is not only unnecessary but, particularly in matters such as sexual orientation, gives the impression that we do think that it is a mental disorder and therefore must be excluded. It is stigmatising in that respect.

Day Two of the committee saw debate over the 'imparied decision making' test that the Conservatives want inserted. The debates were very revealing as there seemed a lot of confusion on the Tory and Lib Dem side as to what exactly they were proposing and what such a test would mean.

As a mental health worker myself I have to admit that it isn't immediatley clear what they are wanting to propose. Some state (and I think that this is the guidance given in Scotland, where they have adopted such a test) that if you are suicidal or posing a risk to others then, by definition, your decision making is impaired. Well - that seems to make the test hopelessly circular and subjective rather than a clear and genuine test.

Others said it was similar to the test for capacity (if not identical to it) and therefore if you met the test and wanted to commit suicide you should be allowed to do so; if you were a risk to others you could not intervene to stop them.

So the Tory/Lib Dem position lacks the benefit of being thoroughly worked out.

Again the sentiments are good but this is no way to make law. Legislation should aim at relative clarity and tests should be just that, not completley open to divers and contradictory interpretation.

The committee went on to debate that vexed question of 'treatbility' or 'therapeutic benefit' test for detention, but that debate continues in the next session.

The link to the committee debates can be seen here, though the exchanges are quite in depth and occasionally technical, as well as quite argumentative on occasion.

Second Reading of the Mental Health Bill

After this Bill (amending the Mental Health Act 1983, covering England and Wales - Scotland has its own Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2003), has been seriously mauled by the Lords the Government has announced it is going to valiantly seek to overturn the Lords' amendments.

In the second reading debate many Labour MP's expressed some sympathy for some of the Lords' positions so we shall see. The really interesting part will come in the ping pong that might follow by way of getting the same version of the Bill passed in both Houses.

I managed to watch the whole second reading. There were some interesting comments made by members but ulitmately many of the comments were a little superficial in nature.

I was moved though to hear many first hand accounts of people experiencing mental illness and remembered that in fact many MP's do have quite a lot of contact with service users and their families. The Government seemed very confident of their case and I think are going to reverse as many of the amendments as they possibly can and compromise only at the ping pong stage - if at all.

On many I think the Lords' amendments may be well intentioned but probably shouldn't be retained.

I do think that principles should be included in the Bill (bizarrely and for reasons I don't entirely grasp you can't put 'principles' in an amending Bill......). This is something I think the Government should think again on as I think it would satisfy a lot of people and give much needed reassurance.

Other areas I think the Government should think again are the choice of Nearest Relative and the provision of advocacy.

I definitley do not agree that the Government should accept the Lords' amendment on exclusions, which in my view is mischievous and misbegotten.

Yes it says you can't be detained solely because of your sexual orientation (as well as other things such as culture and religious beliefs etc).

Now we are going to get headlines saying 'Govt removed protection from homophobia'. This illustrates how mischevous the amendment is, in that it creates fear that it seeks to address - that it is possible detain people 'solely because of their sexual orientation'. This is clearly ridiculous (it's not possible to detain someone solely on the grounds of anything, actually - even a serious mental disorder), and therefore would be bad legislation and should be removed so there is a much simpler definition of mental disorder.

The other big issues are 'treatability' - where you have to demonstrate 'therapeutiv benefit' in order to detain someone and a restriction on the use of Community Treatment Orders. This is really the nub of the debate and it will be interesting to see how it proceeds.

It is of ocurse important to get it right and will be interesting to watch.

PS I should add that much of the media coverage is grossly distorted and really beside the point to the current debates.

One example is the BBC which has been asking:

Should the mentally ill be detained against their will?

MPs will be debating controversial plans in the Mental Health Bill that would allow the government to detain the mentally ill, even if they have not committed a crime.

All of this is of course grossly misleading as well as being unfortunate because it is designed to make many people who have a mental health problem fearful of mental health services in a way that is completely groundless.

Lawyers Christian Fellowship on the regs

LCF has now published guidance advice on the sexual orientation regulations. On the whole it is much more balanced and dare I say truthful than we have come to expect.

There are still some exaggerations and deliberate scare (expressed as "there's a possiblity that") which you kind of expect, coming from LCF.

Also an actual lawyer has put his name to it, which is good.

Funny that they weren't able to release this before the vote - then it was all scare stories and exaggeration. Now the regs have been voted through they are eble to portray more honesty (they seem to be able to turn that on and off at will).

The link to the advice is here.

Of course, there are aspects to the regs that they don't like. That's to be expected. The LCF has been opposed to any measure of legal equality for LGBT people and of course that's their democratic right.

I do, though, have a few quibbles.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, and I could be wrong but I tend to disagree with the item dealing with the perennial 'Christian printer' being obliged to print books that they don't agree with. Actually the printing of books is more like publishing than printing.

In my untrained view, I think that a printer (or a publisher) can not be forced to print something he doesn't agree with (i.e. to promulgate ideational content he disagrees with), and so, in my view the question doesn't arise.

I personally think that in any case wouldn't be upheld by the Courts under the Human Rights Act.

There is of course the famous Canadian case but that wasn't about printing a book or a 'flyer promoting gay sex' it was about the printing of a letterhead and business cards for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (for a reference to this by now famous case see here, for a summary of the original ruling itself see here). And I do anticipate that a similar case would have a similar outcome in the UK under the sexual orientation regulations.

Apart from that and a few minor quibbles it's quite well researched and even includes the reference to the landmark ruling from the High Court on the Employment Equality regulations where they quite correctly state:

Is it a defence to argue “I am not treating this person differently (discriminating) because of their sexualorientation but because of their sexual practices”?

No. The Government have never accepted this distinction in law and neither (to date) have the courts.

The reference in the ruling itself can be seen here:

"29. Part of the background to the wording of regulation 7(3), and one of the matters that will need to be considered in examining the challenge to that provision, is a distinction drawn between sexual orientation and sexual behaviour. As regards the protection conferred by the Convention, however, I do not consider there to be any material difference between them. Sexual orientation and its manifestation in sexual behaviour are both inextricably connected with a person's private life and identity."

But this is a digression, though one that the Bishop of Hereford might have benefited from having had prior to the Employment Tribunal case.

I would also quibble with any suggestion that preaching and membership might potentially be covered under the regulations under a variety of scenarios. This is a failure to read in the provisions of the Human Rights Act and also the no doubt forthcoming Belfast High Court case on the Northern Ireland regulations which will no doubt say the same thing.

Any way, all of this apart, what they're putting out now is much more balanced than the scare stories they were putting forth before the regulations were passed by Parliament.

Bishops' madness

Well Easter is well and truly over isn't it?

Bizarre opinions being expressed by various Bishops expressing a favourable comparison between....... Iran (of all places) and our own society in the UK and presumably the terribly corrupt Western World.

Apparently Iran is a superior kind of country to ours. They have clearly defined religouse based values whereas we don't.

I think Al Qaida thinks exactly the same and that's why they would like to install a similar regime in the UK to the one which the bishops so clearly value in Iran.

Do they have any inclination of what kind of country Iran is? Do they really believe that their religious inspired dictatorship is superior to our democracy just because, having taken UK forces hostage, they then cite the Prophet when releasing them?

Whilst I don't want to use the phraseology of Axis of Evil, it's clearly not the most wonderful of places to live.

I can't help but wonder though whether the bishops views mean they regard Iran with a certain amount of envy. Nobody is allowed to question the dominant religion. Religious law runs the country and no need to lobby the Government over the Sexual Orientation regulations and suffer the humiliation of being rebuffed - you are the Government and if people disagree they tend to meet a sticky end. Is that secretly what they would like for us with our 'free floating' values?

I shudder to think.

Easter time

Most of my blogs are securely from a secular perspective (that is to say that I blog secular and even from time to time refer to 'Christians' in the 3rd person...), which is kind of funny when I spend so much time in churches....

So I thought (the thought came to me during the Maundy Thursday Vigil last night) that I might blog a few words about how I'm experiencing Easter.

I should say that this is now my 4th Easter observed in the Anglo-Catholic way and of course the liturgy is by and large the same but the experience and how it changes you is different each time.

The service is very striking but the Vigil allows for a mental discipline of just remaining in the side chappel with little other than you thoughts, the candles on the altar and some flowers. The stilling of the mind lingers on and makes you think you should pray like that more often....

The Good Friday service is one of simplicity and quiet and the remembering of the sufferings of our Lord.

Saturday - Easter Vigil - a long service, starting off with a bonfire and with the renewal of baptismal vows. The strong points for me are the procession in near darkness into the Church, the procession down to the font and trying not to be covered in hot wax from the Paschal candle; Gloria in Latin for the first time after Lent with the ringing of bells, the first Regina Caeli.

Followed by the Easter Sunday service itself (the first service I attended my conversion as a young teenager was an Easter Sunday Mehodist service so it has a special resonance), followed by a service of benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the evening.

Christmas is a very strong time for celebrating the faith but for me it's Easter that is the strongest time and when you are most open to reflection and introspection.

We are only at the mid point at the moment of the Triduum and I feel very differntly to the experience compared to how I thought I would. The Maundy Thursday never fails to be a full stop to all the thoughts that are swirling around in your head and hopefully reorienting towards the things that are in fact important.

The sense of being taken out of time by an ageless liturgy that is being celebrated all over the globe. And a special sense of grace after recent disputes that I've blogged about (extensively) elsewhere.

For now'll just leave my favourite verses from today's hymn:

The strife is o'er, the battle done,
the victory of life is won;
the song of triumph has begun.
Alleluia!

The powers of death have done their worst,
but Christ their legions hath dispersed:
let shout of holy joy outburst.
Alleluia!

He closed the yawning gates of hell,
the bars from heaven's high portals fell;
let hymns of praise his triumphs tell!
Alleluia!

Not an April Fool; but still foolish

Well seems I was wrong (though thses days every story in the Observer seems equally improbable, whether published on April 1st or not - does that mean I'm getting older?).

Covered by the BBC here.

Anyway it seems that the Church of England (or parts of it) is practicising (allegedly) discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and placing itself above the law.

I await the outcome of the case with interest.

A catalogue of this year's crop can be found on this BBC page - though I must say I thought the one about Tony Blair becoming an actor was genuine....