Key points of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales (Membership) Act 2026
The New Year got off to an eventful start for the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales (“MHRTW”) where an Emergency Bill, drafted over the Christmas period, was introduced on 13 January 2026 by Senedd Members following the identification of a technical issue with the Mental Health Act 1983 (“MHA”).
Issue
The definition of a ‘registered medical practitioner’ within the MHA stipulated that an individual must hold specific credentials to be appointed to the MHRTW, namely a:
- General Medical Council registration; and
- Licence to practice.
Julie James, Counsel General and Minister for Delivery, confirmed in a debate on the Bill on 13 January 2026 that retired practitioners who do not hold a current licence to practice account for around two thirds of the members. Therefore, they ‘technically’ were not eligible to be members of the MHRTW.
Impact
In early January of this year, the President of the Tribunal, Jane McConnell, announced that she would have to prevent medical members without a licence from sitting on cases at the MHRTW due to the technical issue which had been brought to her attention.
The MHRTW faced immediate consequences from this action as the Royal College of Psychiatrists noted a significant reduction in eligible medical members which went from 43 to only 19. Thus, increasing the delays on the already under pressure MHRTW – risking statutory timeframes for hearings being missed.
Resolution
As a result, the Emergency Bill, now known as the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales (Membership) Act 2026 (“the Act”) was approved by the Senedd and given Royal Assent, which came into force on 21 January 2026.
Section One of the Act amends Paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 the MHA to confirm that the definition of ‘registered medical practitioner’ means a fully registered person within the Medical Act 1983. Importantly, it also includes a provision which confirms that the validity of any current or past members who did not hold a licence to practise is unaffected.
Section Two includes a valuable provision to ensure that training for non-practising medical members is carried out and reviewed by the Welsh Ministers.
If you need any further advice on the new Act of MHA, please contact Richard M Jones and Eve Piffaretti.
You can access the Act here.
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