Commentary Part 1 – Amendments to Mental Health Act 1983 Overview Section 19: Approval of courses etc for approved mental health professionals
68.Section 19 inserts a new section 114A into the 1983 Act in relation to the approval of courses for AMHPs. This allows the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and the Care Council for Wales (CCfW), which are the statutory bodies set up to regulate the social work profession, to approve courses for the training of English and Welsh AMHPs respectively, regardless of the trainees' profession. To ensure that AMHPs from different professional backgrounds continue to be regulated by their own professional bodies, section 114A(4) states that the functions of an approved mental health professional shall not be considered to be "relevant social work" for the purposes of Part 4 of the Care Standards Act 2000. Part 4 of the Care Standards Act 2000 requires the GSCC and CCfW to provide codes of practice for social care workers, which includes "a person who engages in relevant social work". "Relevant social work" is defined as "social work which is required in connection with any health, education or social services provided by any person". Making clear that AMHP functions are not "relevant social work" for the purposes of Part 4 of the Care Standards Act means that the GSCC's and CCfW's codes of practice do not apply to AMHPs who are not social workers.