This Act amends the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to procedures with which a person may be deprived of liberty where the person lacks capacity to consent. It includes amendments of authorising of arrangements enabling care and treatment which give rise to a deprivation of liberty; and Section 42 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 code of practice in relation to Deprivation of liberty. The legislation provides for the repeal of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and their replacement with a new scheme called the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS).

This paper presents a review, in two parts, of the first ten years of the Court of Protection, a specialist mental capacity court in England and Wales which applies a functional model of mental capacity. The first part outlines the history of the functional model in England and Wales, and the development of this specialist mental capacity court (Court of Protection), created by the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The second part presents an empirical and case-based study of 40 published cases of capacity disputes presented to the Court of Protection, or to the Court of Appeal on appeal from the Court of Protection, during the first ten years of its existence. The authors found that in 70% of cases the subject of proceedings (or P) had either a learning disability or dementia, and the court ruled on P’s capacity for a wide range of issues, most commonly residence, care and contact. The judge considered the support principle, or whether practical steps were taken to maximise P’s capacity, in 23 of 40 (57.5%) cases. The subject P was determined to have capacity in 13 cases, to lack capacity in 22 cases, and in 5 cases P was found to have and lack capacity for different issues before the court. The functional inability to use or weigh relevant information was most commonly cited by the judge, being cited in all but 2 cases in which P was determined to lack capacity and inabilities were cited. The propensity for the system to learn was shown by an increase in the proportion of cases which considered the ‘causative nexus’ from 2013, when a Court of Appeal case emphasised that impairment must not merely be present alongside functional inability but must be the causal basis of inability. The authors conclude that whilst the Court of Protection is still on a learning curve, its work provides a powerful illustration of what taking capacity seriously looks like, both inside and outside the courtroom.

A brief overview of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, its scope, its provisions and what lack of capacity means.

This report looks at some of the common issues and complaints investigated by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman concerning people who lack mental capacity and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) system. The report includes individual case studies to show the impact on people when things go wrong. It estimates that 20 per cent of the 1,212 adult social care complaints investigated by the Ombudsman in the year 2016/17 concerned mental capacity or DoLS. Common issues included: not completing, or delays in carrying out, mental capacity assessments; poor ‘best interests’ decision making; disagreements with the process and failure to involving families; delay in obtaining DoLS authorisations; and failure to carry out full assessments before applying for DoLS. Drawing on the results of investigations, the report provides good practice points to help social care professionals get it right firs time when working with people who may lack mental capacity. It also provides a list of questions to help councillors scrutinise their own authorities.

An easy read version of the Law Commission Mental Capacity and Deprivation of Liberty: interim statement.

This report on the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and care planning provides guidance for both commissioners and provider of social care on how care and support plans can comply with the principles of the MCA.

The film looks at the five key principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and how these can be applied to the care planning process.

A short film depicting scenes in a domestic setting between an older man and his domiciliary care worker. The film introduces the principles of the Mental Capacity Act in relation to a financial decision.

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.

SCIE’s Mental Capacity Act awareness training improves understanding for a range of health and social care staff