Guardianship under the Mental Health Act, 1983 (GMHA)

Measures describe a question asked to a participant during a survey or an item of information requested from a manager when they fill out a data return. For example, ‘Who do you live with?’ is a measure and the possible responses might be, mother, father, brother, sister etc.

Question/Data item wording	Response scale wording	Need OR provision OR receipt	Description of measure	Start Year	Age of interest	Age from	Age to	Informant	Multiple rater	Reporting term	Sweep title	Standard instrument	Dataset
Total new cases opened during the year	Yearly data is available from 2003/4 until most recent year Data is broken down by region: England North East North West Yorkshire and The Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West And then by each English Local Authority. It is also broken down by: Gender Section of Act (Section 7 or 37)	Provision;	New guardianship cases opened during year	2023	0-120	0	120	Data manager	No	Yearly	Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983, England 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24	No	GMHA
Total number of cases continuing at the end of the year	Yearly data is available from 2003/4 until most recent year Data is broken down by region: England North East North West Yorkshire and The Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West And then by each English Local Authority. It is also broken down by: Gender Section of Act (Section 7 or 37)	Provision;	Continuing guardianship cases at end of year	2023	0-120	0	120	Data manager	No	Yearly	Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983, England 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24	No	GMHA
Total number of cases closed during the year	Yearly data is available from 2003/4 until most recent year Data is broken down by region: England North East North West Yorkshire and The Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West And then by each English Local Authority. It is also broken down by: Gender Section of Act (Section 7 or 37)	Provision;	Guardianship cases closed during year	2023	0-120	0	120	Data manager	No	Yearly	Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983, England 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24	No	GMHA
No. of non-responding LAs	Yearly data is available from 2003/4 until most recent year	Provision;	No. of non-responding LAs	2023	0-120	0	120	Data manager	No	Yearly	Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983, England 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24	No	GMHA
Median length of closed cases (months) 2022-23	Data is broken down by region: England North East North West Yorkshire and The Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West And then by each English Local Authority.	Provision;	Median length guardianship closed cases 2022-23	2023	0-120	0	120	Data manager	No	Yearly	Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983, England 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24	No	GMHA
Median length of closed cases (months) 2023-24	Data is broken down by region: England North East North West Yorkshire and The Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West And then by each English Local Authority.	Provision;	Median length guardianship closed cases 2023-24	2023	0-120	0	120	Data manager	No	Yearly	Guardianship under the Mental Health Act 1983, England 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24	No	GMHA
Total new cases for guardianship opened during the year (totals and broken down by region of country)	Number of cases	Provision;	New guardianship cases in year	2003	16-120	16	120	Data manager	No	Past year	Ongoing - yearly	No	GMHA
Total number of cases for guardianship continuing at the end of the year (totals and broken down by region of country)	Number of cases	Provision;	Continuing guardianship cases in year	2003	16-120	16	120	Data manager	No	Past year	Ongoing - yearly	No	GMHA
Total number of cases for guardianship closed during the year (totals and broken down by region of country)	Number of cases	Provision;	Closed guardianship cases in year	2003	16-120	16	120	Data manager	No	Past year	Ongoing - yearly	No	GMHA
Median length of closed cases for guardianship (months) (totals and broken down by region of country and councils)	Length of time in months	Provision;	Median length closed guardianship cases in year	2003	16-120	16	120	Data manager	No	Past year	Ongoing - yearly	No	GMHA
New cases for guardianship opened during the year (totals and broken down by region of country). Broken down by gender and section of act (section 7 or section 37)	Number of cases	Provision;	New guardianship cases in year - gender and act section	2003	16-120	16	120	Data manager	No	Past year	Ongoing - yearly	No	GMHA
Continuing cases for guardianship during the year (totals and broken down by region of country). Broken down by gender and section of act (section 7 or section 37)	Number of cases	Provision;	Continuing guardianship cases in year - gender and act section	2003	16-120	16	120	Data manager	No	Past year	Ongoing - yearly	No	GMHA
Closed cases for guardianship during the year (totals and broken down by region of country). Broken down by gender and section of act (section 7 or section 37)	Number of cases	Provision;	Closed guardianship cases in year - gender and act section	2003	16-120	16	120	Data manager	No	Past year	Ongoing - yearly	No	GMHA

England

Aims

Data on the use of Guardianship orders under Sections 7 and 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Includes yearly time series since 2003-04. The data is collected directly from councils in England, also known as ‘local authorities’ in this publication. Local authorities usually assume the role of the guardian.

Institution

NHS Digital

Geographic coverage - Nations

England;

Start date

2003

Minimum age at recruitment

Sample Size

380

Sample

Study design

Data return

Sample details

The data is collected directly from councils in England, also known as ‘local authorities’ in this publication. Local authorities usually assume the role of the guardian.

Sex

All

Sample Characteristics

Local authorities

Sample size at most recent sweep

380 cases (opened, conntuining & clsoed) during most recent year

Individual data available (e.g. upon special request)?

No

Data Access Level

Restricted access only (application required)

Data Access

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/guardianship-under-the-mental-health-act-1983/1983-2018-19-2019-20--2020-21

Regional variable present?

Yes

Local Authority variable present?

Yes

Complementary Data

None

Genetic Data Collected

Linked Data

HDR UK Innovation Gateway

Website

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/guardianship-under-the-mental-health-act-1983

Catalogue of Social Care Data

UNITING SOCIAL CARE DATA