The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland is a non-departmental public body, responsible for safeguarding the rights and welfare of people in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

with a

learning disability Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

or other

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. The Commission was original established by the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960. It enquires into cases of alleged ill treatment or deficiency of care or treatment, with investigations that include visits to alleged victims in hospitals and community settings. The Commission is accountable to the Scottish Government

Health and Social Care Directorates The Health and Social Care Directorates are a group of directorates of the Scottish Government. They are responsible for NHS Scotland, as well as policies on the development and implementation of health and social care. The Chief Executive of NH ...

for its statutory duties and how its public money is spent. It is required to follow

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

customary accounting rules and to meet NHS financial targets.

Legal framework

It has statutory duties to safeguard the interests of people considered to be mentally disordered or incapacitated under the

Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, which came into effect on 5 October 2005, is an Act of the Scottish Parliament that enables medical professionals to legally detain and treat people against their will on the grounds o ...

or the

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (2000 asp 4) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It was passed on 29 March 2000, receiving royal assent on 9 May. It concerns the welfare of adults (the age of legal capacity in Scotland being 16 ...

. The Scottish Executive's introduction to the Act specifies: "Part 2 of the 2003 Act sets out provisions relating to the continued existence of the Mental Welfare Commission for

. The Commission will have: * new duties to monitor the operation of the Act and to promote best practice; * specific powers and duties in relation to carrying out visits to patients, investigations, interviews and medical examinations, and to inspect records; and * powers and duties to publish information and guidance, and to give advice or bring matters to the attention of others in the mental health law system. These powers and duties should enable the Commission to maintain and develop its vital role in protecting the rights of service users, and in promoting the effective operation of mental health law. Schedule 1 of the Act sets out more detail on the membership, organisation and general powers of the Commission and makes provision for regulations to specify some matters in more detail, if necessary.

The same act also set up the

Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland is a tribunal of the Scottish Government to hear applications for, and appeals against, Compulsory Treatment Order, and appeals against Short Term Detention Certificates made under the Mental Health (Care a ...

, which hears appeals against detentions and applications for compulsory treatment orders under the 2003 act.

Working with other organisations

The Commission also works closely with several other organisations including the Office of the Public Guardian,

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is the organisation that handles complaints about public services in Scotland. The Ombudsman service is independent of government and with a duty to act impartially. The SPSO is responsible for lookin ...

(SPSO),

Scottish Social Services Council The Scottish Social Services Council is responsible for raising standards in the country's social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly incl ...

(SSSC),

Healthcare Improvement Scotland Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national healthcare improvement organisation for Scotland. It is a public body which is part of the Scottish National Health Service, created in April 2011. History NHS Quality Improvement Scotland ( ...

and the Care Inspectorate

Location

The offices of the Commission are based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 2005 the Scottish Executive had wanted the Commission to relocate to

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

as part of a Scotland-wide approach to the location of government jobs. However, the Commission did not need to comply with the policy on the location of government jobs because it is an independent body.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.mwcscot.org.uk

Legal framework

Working with other organisations

Location

See also

References

External links

Further reading