Section 71 of the 1983 Act currently provides a discretionary power for the Secretary of State to refer a restricted patient’s case to the Tribunal at any time. It also requires the Secretary of State to make referrals for restricted patients detained in hospital where the patient’s case hasn’t been considered by the Tribunal in the preceding three years. There is a delegated power to vary the three-year referral period by order.
	Section 75 of the 1983 Act provides for recalled conditionally discharged restricted patients to be referred to the Tribunal within a month of return to hospital, and for conditionally discharged restricted patients to be able to apply to the Tribunal between a year and two years from the discharge, for their detention to be reviewed.
	Sections 32 and 33 of the Act amends the previous legislative provisions in relation to automatic referrals for mentally disordered offenders subject to special restrictions ("Part 3 restricted patients"). Section 32 introduces automatic referrals for patients discharged under the new power of conditional discharge subject to DOL conditions ("supervised discharge patients") introduced by section 36 of the Act. It also amends an existing delegated power for the Secretary of State to vary automatic referral periods for Part 3 restricted patients detained in hospital, as well as introducing a new delegated power for the Secretary of State to amend the automatic referral periods for supervised discharge patients.
	Subsection (2)(a) of section 32 of the Act amends section 71(3A) to extend the Secretary of State’s delegated power to amend by order the automatic referral periods specified under section 71 subsection (2) to also amend automatic referrals for different categories of patients or areas, and to make exceptions.
	Subsection (2)(b) of section 32 inserts a new section 71 subsections (4A) and (4B) to the 1983 Act.
	The effect of section 71(4A) is to clarify that the Tribunal must exercise the power under section 75 of the 1983 Act, when considering the case of supervised discharge patients following a discretionary referral by Secretary of State under section 71 subsection (1) of the 1983 Act.
	The new section 71 subsection (4B) extends the Tribunal powers when reviewing the detention of a conditionally discharged patient following a discretionary referral under section 71 subsection (1) to allow the Tribunal the power to vary or impose any conditions to which the patient is subject, including imposing "DoL conditions" where the relevant threshold is met under this subsection. This is in addition to the Tribunal’s existing power to direct that a restriction order, limitation direction or restriction direction ceases to have effect, thereby discharging the patient from detention.
	Subsection (3)(a) of section 32 inserts a new section 75 subsections (2C) to (2I).
	The new section 75(2C) extends the automatic referrals by the Secretary of State to supervised discharged patients. The effect is to require the Secretary of State to refer supervised discharged patients 12 months from the date that they became subject to DoL conditions and thereafter each subsequent period of two years, where the Tribunal has not considered their case.
	The new section 75(2D) provides that the new automatic referrals at section 75 (2C) will not trigger where the Tribunal has already reviewed the patient's detention during the period before the automatic referrals would have been triggered.
	The new section 75(2E) provides an additional safeguard to ensure that supervised discharge patients are not detained for a period of more than four years without their detention being reviewed by the Tribunal. This automatic referral will only be engaged in the unlikely event that, a patient switches back and forth between being a conditionally discharged patient not subject to DoL conditions and a supervised discharged patient without triggering the new referral periods at subsections (2B).
	The new section 75(2F) provides the Secretary of State the power to vary by order the referral periods as set out under subsections (2C) and (2E). Where the Secretary of State makes such an order section 75(2G) allows the order to specify different automatic referral periods for different categories of patients, or areas, allows exceptions to automatic referrals for certain patients and includes the power to make transitional, consequential, incidental or supplemental provisions. The effect of this provision is to ensure that automatic referral periods can be adjusted where in practice it would be more appropriate or beneficial for different arrangements to be in place.
	The new section 75(2H) ensures that when a referral is made by the Secretary of State it is made to the Tribunal in the area in which the patient is resident.
	The new section 75(2I) clarifies that when this section refers to the patient’s case being considered by the Tribunal it means either by the patient making an application or otherwise.
	Subsection (3)(b) of section 32 amends section 75 subsection (3) of the 1983 Act to ensure that the Tribunal exercises the powers under section 75 subsection (3) of the 1983 Act, when considering the supervised discharge patient following an automatic referral made under subsection (2C) or (2E).
	Subsection (3)(c) of section 32 inserts a new section 75(4) to extend the power of the Tribunal when reviewing the detention of a supervised discharged patient, whether on application by or on behalf of the patient or following an automatic referral under section 75(2C) or (2E). This power is additional to those set out in section 75 subsection (3) and allows the Tribunal to impose DoL conditions where the relevant threshold is met.
	Subsection (4) of section 32 extends section 143 subsection (3) to apply to the new section 75(2F). This ensures that an order to vary the automatic referrals as specified under new subsections (2C) or (2E) can only be made if a draft of it has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
	Subsection (5) of section 32 is a transitional provision and encompasses all restricted patients as set out in section 79 of the 1983 Act. Its effect is to make the amendments made by this section of the Act apply to those patients who became a restricted patient before or after the coming into force of this section of the Act.
Periods for applications and references to the tribunal Section 32: References: restricted patients subject to deprivation of liberty conditions