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The purpose of this paper is to clarify: the law on capacity to consent to sex; ethical and legal factors in assessing decision‐making capacity of those on the autism (ASD) and neurodiverse (ND) spectrums; and the legal obligations to promote sexual health devolving to local authorities from April 2013. We make proposals to ensure socio‐sexual competence by providing appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE).

Critical legal analysis of case law and legislation on the capacity of the vulnerable to consent to sex, in the context of those diagnosed on the autism and neurodiverse spectrums.

Consent to sex cannot be regarded as informed, autonomous, valid and lawful without socio‐sexual competence. Sex and relationships education should be provided to ensure socio‐sexual competence, in keeping with international conventions and national laws and policies.

There is an urgent need for research into the needs and experiences of people with ASD/ND and their families/carers with regard to the efficacy and tailoring of SRE strategies. This research should feed into SRE family intervention programmes (SREFIPs), developed in partnership with people with ASD/ND, their families/carers and professionals.

This article seeks to resolve many of the existing legal uncertainties surrounding the capacity to consent to sex and to propose novel solutions to ensure the socio‐sexual competence of those diagnosed on the ASD or ND spectrums in relation to their rights to sexual expression.

Following a case in the 1990s when a learning‐disabled man was admitted to hospital unlawfully, the UK government has introduced the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards into the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This article discusses the case that was the background to the legislation, explores the safeguards, and discusses the impact on services and individuals in the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to consider oxytocin as a treatment for children diagnosed with callous unemotional [CU] traits, emotion regulation and whether moral disability is a meaningful category.

The paper discusses the relationship between psychiatric diagnoses, moral opprobrium and disability in relation to emotion regulation and diagnoses of callous unemotional conduct disorder (CUCD) and psychopathy, together with current research on oxytocin in humans.

Diagnoses of callous unemotional traits and psychopathy are problematic as a result of inbuilt moral opprobrium, while treating CUCD with oxytocin to promote prosociality through mandating a moral feeling brain oversimplifies how this neuropeptide operates in humans.

Oxytocin is currently under trial as a treatment for behavioural variant fronto‐temporal dementia, where patients display symptoms similar to those diagnosed with CUCD. As genetic, environmental and ethnic factors affect oxytocin's effects in humans, caution is warranted before supporting its use to treat CUCD. Moreover, such use may represent a reductionist technofix compared with addressing socioeconomic factors promoting the manifestation of CU traits as an adaptation.

The purpose of this paper is to apply critical legal analysis to laws, policies and reforms focused on special educational needs (SEN) and equality in England and to suggest a Neurodiversity spectrum statement.

The paper reviews current legal and policy initiatives in SEN, together with recent reforms in equality law.

While past and current policies may have laudable aims, tensions such as a lack of integration of education, health and social services have had prejudicial outcomes for children with SEN, their families/carers, and the professionals involved.

Legal reforms promise to remedy some problems, but must be underpinned by adequate resourcing, appeal procedures, and remedies which foster the enforcement of legal duties. Some resources for families with children with SEN are noted.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the clinical implications of the case of AM and the ruling that the Mental Health Act no longer has primacy over other legislation in certain treatment situations.

Critical case analysis and discussion.

The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards could be used more widely, and in preference to the Mental Health Act, but this may cause problems to clinicians and other decision makers such as Mental Health Tribunals.

This case and its findings have not been widely discussed in academic or clinical practice literature.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss and examine the implications of holding mental health tribunals in public.

The paper discusses the functioning of tribunals, compares tribunals with other legal processes in the UK and elsewhere, and reviews the legal reasoning for holding tribunal hearings in public.

The first tribunal hearing has already been held in public and another public hearing is agreed. Public hearings should allow for greater transparency and scrutiny than has thus far been possible, and may change the behaviour of attendees.

Public tribunal hearings have not yet been widely discussed in the academic literature, yet are expected to have implications for all involved.

The Zone of Parental Control (ZPC) is a concept that has been introduced in the Code of Practice for the revised Mental Health Act 1983, but guidance on its scope remains scanty. The purpose of this paper is to bring together recent rulings from case law and the original guidance, and make suggestions for clinicians when deciding if an intervention is within the Zone.

Review and examination of case law, legislation and legal guidance.

Deprivations of liberty fall outside the ZPC, but restrictions of liberty lie within; parental disagreement with care correlates strongly with care that lies outside the ZPC.

The findings of this article should aid clinicians in deciding whether a treatment regime lies within the ZPC.

Examines the provision of an occupational health service and the audit of such a service as one barometer of an organization's effective functioning. Occupational health is seen as part of the human resource function and encompasses health care, health education/information, health surveillance and health protection. It is concerned with the effect of health on work as well as the effect of work on health. Looks at attempts to measure the effectiveness of such a service using the traditional arguments of reduction in the costs of work absence and the increase in worker morale. Finally, suggests that the most effective argument is the cost to an organization of not putting into place an effective occupational health service. Concludes by recognizing that occupational health services must be more accountable, and be regularly audited. At the same time there is a social aspect to any enterprise and an element of humanitarianism without which human institutions lose a significant part of the reason for their existence.