Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857

The Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857[1] formed mental health law in Scotland from 1857 until 1913.

Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857[1]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation20 & 21 Vict. c. 71
Dates
Royal assent25 August 1857

Background

Prior to the Lunacy (Scotland) Act, lunacy legislation in Scotland was enshrined in the Madhouses (Scotland) Act 1815 which established the right of Scottish Sheriffs to order the inspection of madhouses.[2] However the Scottish Lunacy Commission inquiry which reported in 1857 found that the official oversight of mental health institutions "remained at best variable and at worst simply inadequate".[3] It recommended the formation of a "Scottish Lunacy Board" who would address the shortfall in oversight.[3][4]

Provisions

The legislation created a General Board of Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland. It also created district boards with the power to establish and operate publicly funded "district asylums" for patients who could not afford the fees charged by existing private and charitable "Royal Asylums".[3] These existing "Royal Asylums" (with Royal Charters) included the Aberdeen Royal Lunatic Asylum, the Crichton Royal Institution, the Dundee Royal Lunatic Asylum, the Royal Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum, the Glasgow Royal Lunatic Asylum, the Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum and James Murray's Royal Lunatic Asylum.[5] The aim of the legislation was to establish a network of "district asylums" with coverage throughout Scotland.[6]

Subsequent legislation

Under the Mental Deficiency and Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1913, the General Board of Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland was reconstructed and designated the General Board of Control for Scotland.[7]

See also

References
  1. The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
  2. Barfoot, M (1 January 2009). "The 1815 Act to Regulate Madhouses in Scotland: A Reinterpretation". Medical History. 53 (1): 57–76. doi:10.1017/s0025727300003318. PMC 2629162. PMID 19190749.
  3. "Background to the Lunacy (Scotland) Act, 1857". Asylum Geographies. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  4. "The Scottish Lunacy Board". British Medical Journal. 1 (38): 800. 19 September 1857. PMC 2250639.
  5. Keane, p. 30
  6. Farquharson, Lauren (2017). "A 'Scottish Poor Law of Lunacy'? Poor Law, Lunacy Law and Scotland's parochial asylums" (PDF). History of Psychiatry. 28 (1): 15–28. doi:10.1177/0957154X16678123. PMID 27895195. S2CID 20353931.
  7. Cameron, Donald (1954). "Admissions to Scottish mental hospitals in the last 100 years" (PDF). British Medical Journal. pp. 180–186. Retrieved 22 April 2019.

Sources
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