Building on the work carried out in individual authorities, the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADASS) have produced a range of resources that can assist local areas in their implementation of the Act, including the new Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) which will be replacing Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

This framework aims to assist professionals, and specifically staff working within Gateshead, to understand their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and to access guidance to assist them in fulfilling them. The document is separated into four main parts: policy – this section outlines the policy structures which underpin MCA practice in Gateshead, including a detailed glossary of terms, the legal context, exploration of the role of the CQC and a discussion of how clear MCA leadership can be structured within individual agencies; considerations for particular agencies – this section examines the impact of the MCA on specific agencies within Gateshead and considers some of the challenges presented; MCA practice and procedural guidance – this section considers specific elements and functions of the MCA, and offers practice and procedural guidance; and DoLS procedural guidance – this section sets out Gateshead’s procedure for the effective operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

This note provides an overview of the Department of Health and Social Care (non-statutory) guidance ‘Adult social care: our COVID-19 winter plan 2020 to 2021’. It discusses the key issues for local authorities, and in particular the interplay with the wellbeing principles of the Care Act 2014, including managing a potential conflict in terms of the wellbeing of both care home residents and those in the community with care and support needs as regards prevention of C-19. It also looks at the implications of the winter plan for the right to respect for family and private life, addressing the tension between the imperative to protect the health of social care users (and the social care workforce) and the need to respect the family life and private life rights of those who might be subject to protective restrictions. Finally, it explores the impact of the winter plan on deprivation of liberty safeguards, in particular in relation to testing and 14-day isolation requirements.

The number of adults who self-neglect and thus fall under the aegis of local authority adult safeguarding procedures in England has increased substantially since the introduction of the Care Act 2014. The requirement for collaborative working between agencies dealing with these adults in a safeguarding context is explicit in government policy and legislation. Decisions made by the multiplicity of agencies that may work with people who self-neglect are largely guided by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The overall objective of this research was to develop a clearer understanding of how the range of agencies that might typically be involved in the life of a self-neglecting person work together. This article examines how agencies put the MCA into practice in their work with people who self-neglect, and how they understand their own and others’ roles and responsibilities in so doing. This qualitative study took place in two local authorities in England from 2016 to 2017 and informed a wider action research study which was completed in 2019. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from the professional groups who might typically be involved with self-neglect cases. À total of 245 participants from across 17 different professional groups took part in semi-structured interviews, in a group, paired or individual format, decided by their customary working configuration. Data from the interview transcripts was analysed using thematic analysis. Three key themes in relation to how participants understood the MCA and multi-agency working emerged from the analysis of this data set. These were; a lack of understanding of the MCA by participants and other agencies; a reluctance to engage with MCA assessments; and a perception of manipulation of the MCA by other professionals. This study underlines the importance of the informed application of the MCA in working with people who self-neglect, and an urgent need to consider how this could be enhanced if the service user is not to experience intrusive interventions resulting from professional misinterpretation.

SCIE guide to support the commissioning of the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) service

SCIE Guide on practice guidance on the involvement of Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCAs) in safeguarding adults

This guide aims to support the work of local authority and NHS staff who may need to instruct and work with IMCAs in relation to accommodation decisions and care reviews.

This document is a combination of best practice guidance and external resources to assist practitioners when using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). It applies to all Central Bedfordshire Council employees working with people over the age of 16 and should be considered jointly with the MCA 2005 Code of Practice DoLS Codes of Practice, CBC Mental Capacity Act 2005 policy and CBC Mental Capacity Act 2005 competency framework.

Following the March 2014 Supreme Court judgment in the case of ‘Cheshire West’ clarified an ‘acid test’ used to determine whether someone should be assessed under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) scheme, the Department of Health provided a oneoff contribution of £25m in July 2015 to local authorities to support their DoLS work. This document reports on how local authorities spent/intend to spend their allocation.

This is a summary of the rights people are entitled to when the council has decided they need to stay in a care home or hospital which they have named.

The focus of this report is on the MHA and its interface with the MCA, Deprivation of Liberty and the implications of the Supreme Court judgment (P v Cheshire West and Chester Council and P and Q v Surrey County Council [2014] UKSC 19). The latter has made it clearer and easier for providers and decision makers to identify where a person is being deprived of their liberty but has also led to a considerable increase in the numbers of people in England and Wales who are considered to be deprived of their liberty for the purposes of receiving care and treatment. The paper summarises the findings from a survey on the court judgment impacted on AMHP practice and service delivery. They show that there has been significant impact on AMHPs and service providers, but the situation appears to be more challenging for certain local authorities where a large proportion of their Best Interests Assessors for DoLS are drawn from the AMHP service. Landmark changes impacting AMHP practice and the local authorities on behalf of which the professionals act have been made as result of the Cheshire West judgement but there remain barriers and challenges in fully implementing these changes arising from the complex and bureaucratic DoLS framework. The Law Commission has been tasked to look for a framework that is simpler, while still protecting the rights of vulnerable people with mental health problems and those who lack capacity, with final report and draft legislation due to be published in summer 2017.