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National Statistics
Publication, Part of

Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983, England 2014-15, National Statistics

National statistics, Accredited official statistics
Publication Date:
Geographic Coverage:
England
Geographical Granularity:
Country, Regions, Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs), Ambulance Trusts
Date Range:
01 Apr 2014 to 31 Mar 2015

Summary

Note: (06/08/15).  Updates to the csv and Annual Report have been published. These correct the file name of the csv (the content remains the same), clarify the titles of 3 charts (figures 1.2, 1.4 and 3.2) and update a reference to refer to an appendix in the main publication (on page 45)

 

This report contains information on the use of Guardianship under Section 7 and 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, during the reporting period 1 April 2014 - 31 March 2015. It contains information on new, continuing and closed cases at national, regional and local authority levels and includes breakdowns by gender, Guardianship type, and local authority region.

Highlights

  • For the 2014-15 reporting period there were 212 new Guardianship cases. This is 86 fewer than in 2013-14, a decrease of 29 per cent. This decrease follows a 6 per cent increase between 2012-13 and 2013-14. This increase however had been preceded by three consecutive years of decline.
  • As at 31 March 2015, 522 people in England were subject to a Guardianship order.  This is 108 fewer than at the same point in 2014; a reduction of 17 per cent. This is also the tenth consecutive year of decline in continuing cases from 948 cases in 2004-05 to 522 cases in 2014-15, a reduction of 45 per cent over this period. The decline in Guardianship usage may be due in part to the availability of other mental health legislation.
  • The number of closed cases reduced slightly compared to the previous year, with 301 cases closed in 2014-15 compared to 313 in 2013-14 (a reduction of 4 per cent). The number of closed cases has now reduced for five consecutive years, since the peak of 496 cases in 2009-10. This represents an overall reduction of 39 per cent since 2009-10.
  • The North West and North East regions had the highest rate of new cases per million-population, both recording 9.3 cases per million-population, falling from 11.1 and 13.5 respectively in 2013-14 (based on population figures for those aged 16 years and over). This compares to 4.8 new cases per million-population for England overall.
  • The East of England region had the fewest new cases with 0.8 cases per million-population, compared to 2.9 cases last year. This is also the only region with less than 2 cases per million-population.
  • The North West had the highest rate for continuing cases with 23.5 cases per million-population. The South East and London continue to have the lowest rate of continuing cases. The South East had 6.4 cases per million-population and London 3.7 cases per million-population, although London represents an increase compared to 2013-14.
  • The durations of the 301 Guardianship cases ending in 2014-15 ranged from less than 3 months (15 cases) to over 10 years (14 cases). Of the 287 concluded Section 7 cases, 72 per cent (206) had durations of less than 2 years. Of the 14 concluded Section 37 cases, 29 per cent (4) had durations of less than 2 years. The median duration of a Guardianship case in England was 12.0 months.

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Last edited: 11 April 2018 4:16 pm