The government has announced plans to remove entitlement to state benefits for people who are detained in hospital under mental health or hospital orders. The move follows a public campaign led by the families of victims of Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane, who argued that offenders held in secure hospitals should not continue to receive public support.
Hospital orders are used to detain offenders with diagnosed mental disorders in secure psychiatric hospitals rather than sending them to prison. Under the planned change, people subject to such orders would be ineligible for the benefits they previously received while detained, although precise details on which payments will be affected and the timing of implementation have not been set out.
Campaigners, including family members of Calocane's victims, welcomed the announcement as recognition of their concerns that it was inappropriate for those who committed serious offences to continue to receive state-funded benefits while detained. Officials said the policy change aims to address those public concerns, while also ensuring fairness in how public funds are allocated.
The proposal is likely to provoke debate about how best to balance the rights and needs of people with serious mental health problems against the interests of victims and public opinion. Legal and welfare experts will be watching for the forthcoming details to see how the change will be implemented in practice and how it will interact with existing protections for vulnerable people.