<p>The CPA policy can be the traced back to the proposals to close the network of long-stay hospitals and introduce community care. With the decrease in hospital provision it was necessary to develop systems to support people with mental health problems living in the community. The government’s 1975 White Paper (Department of Health 1975) set out proposals for developing a range of community mental health services. This policy was further developed when the murder of social worker Isabel Schwarz prompted the government into setting up an inquiry into community-based provision (BBC News 1998). The inquiry, chaired by Sir Roy Griffiths, issued a report titled Community Care– Agenda for Action (Griffiths 1988) that called for the introduction of formal discharge and community care planning.</p>