{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-health-care-and-treatment-scotland-act-2003/section-231",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-health-care-and-treatment-scotland-act-2003/section-231.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2003/13",
  "legislation_title": "Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-health-care-and-treatment-scotland-act-2003",
  "path": "section/231",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "231",
  "heading": "Social circumstances report: mental health officer’s duties",
  "text": "(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, where a relevant event occurs in respect of a patient, the mental health officer shall, before the expiry of the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the event occurs—\n(a) prepare in respect of the patient a social circumstances report; and\n(b) send a copy of the report to—\n(i) the patient’s responsible medical officer; and\n(ii) the Commission.\n(2) If in any case the mental health officer considers that a social circumstances report would serve little, or no, practical purpose, the mental health officer—\n(a) need not comply with subsection (1) above; but\n(b) shall, before the expiry of the period mentioned in that subsection—\n(i) record the reasons for deciding that any such report would serve little, or no, practical purpose; and\n(ii) send a statement of those reasons to the patient’s responsible medical officer and to the Commission.\n(3) In this section, “social circumstances report” means a report setting out such information as may be prescribed by regulations.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 231 in force at 21.3.2005 for specified purposes by S.S.I. 2005/161, art. 2, Sch. 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I2",
      "text": "S. 231 in force at 5.10.2005 in so far as not already in force by S.S.I. 2005/161, art. 3 (as substituted (1.7.2005) by S.S.I. 2005/375, art. 2 and as amended (22.9.2005) by S.S.I. 2005/459, art. 2)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2003/13/section/231",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:16:46.625109+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}