The National Mental Capacity Forum: Chair’s annual report 2019-2020

This is the fourth annual report of the National Mental Capacity Forum. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis, the report spans three main aspects of the Forum’s work: evaluation of the efficacy of the Forum over its first four years in changing awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and its implementation; the legislative changes that resulted in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 to move from Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS); and actions taken from the outset of the pandemic to meet the needs of those who are protected by the MCA and support those providing care and having responsibility for the wellbeing of people with impairments of mental capacity.