The re-approval of Approved Mental Health Professionals in England and Wales: a study of local authority practice

Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) perform a statutory role under the Mental Health Act 1983 as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007, coordinating and authorising applications for compulsory admission to hospital and providing an independent social perspective within a predominantly medical framework. Despite their significance, the process by which AMHPs are re-approved to exercise these powers has received almost no empirical attention. This article presents the first systematic study of AMHP re-approval across all local authorities in England and Wales, using Freedom of Information data to examine how the Mental Health (Approved Mental Health Professionals) (Approval) Regulations 2008 are implemented in practice. These Regulations set the eligibility and competence requirements, as well as the five-year re-approval period, forming the statutory basis for periodic approval. The findings reveal substantial variation between authority types and regions: while 93% of AMHPs were re-approved, County Councils recorded non-approval rates over six times higher than Unitary Authorities, and nearly half of all councils lacked a formal appeals process. Several authorities reported delegating approval functions to NHS Trusts, despite the statutory duty resting solely with local authorities. The analysis suggests that AMHP re-approval currently operates as a fragmented local practice rather than a coherent regulatory system, raising questions about accountability, independence, and procedural fairness in the governance of compulsory mental health powers exercised by AMHPs.