The Act – an Overview Part 4 .Mental Health: Miscellaneous Amendments and Repeals Section 72 – Cross-border visits: leave of absence
171.Section 72 inserts section 309A into the 2003 Act to provide a power for the Scottish Ministers to make regulations for and in connection with the keeping in charge of a person who is subject to escorted leave of absence authorised under legislation in force in another part of the UK, or in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Such regulations may make such provision by applying sections 301 to 303 of the 2003 Act, with or without modification, to such patients. This provision enables regulations to make clear the powers of persons escorting patients under authority conferred under legislation in force in other territories, so that there is clear authority under the 2003 Act for those persons to continue to escort the patient whilst in Scotland. Section 72(2) amends section 326(4)(c) to provide that regulations made under section 309A of the 2003 Act will be subject to affirmative resolution procedure in the Scottish Parliament.