The supervisory body and IMCA roles

Deciding which IMCA provider should be instructed

The MCA Code of Practice says the IMCA service to be instructed is the one which ‘works wherever the person is at the time that the person needs support and representation’ (MCA Code of Practice, Paragraph 10.12). It is not dependent on the location of the supervisory body.

For all the IMCA DoLS roles the IMCA provider instructed will be the one which covers the area where the person is staying. For the 39A IMCA role this may not be where the proposed deprivation of liberty will take place if the plan is to move the person. For the 39C and 39D IMCA roles it will be where the person is being deprived of their liberty.

Where a 39D IMCA is instructed to support a relevant person’s representative who lives in a different area to where the person is deprived of their liberty, supervisory bodies may wish to instruct the IMCA service which covers the area where the representative lives.

However, it is good practice to instruct the IMCA service where the person is being deprived of their liberty because:

• Even if instructed to support the representative the 39D IMCA must still meet the person where ‘practical and appropriate’ (IMCA regulations). This is because the role of the 39D IMCA (as set out in section 39D of the amended MCA) is the same regardless of the reason for the instruction.
• The representative has to have regular contact with the person. The IMCA could arrange meetings with the representative to fit in with this contact.
• It will probably be easier for the IMCA to provide support to the representative over the phone; it may not be easy to contact the person by phone.

See ‘Which local authority is responsible for commissioning?’ in ADASS/SCIE Guide 31: Good practice guidance for the commissioning and monitoring of Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) services