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6 January 2011
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 for England and Wales received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005 and came into force in 2007. It provides a statutory framework for to empower and protect people aged 16 or over who may lack capacity to make some decisions for themselves, for example, people with dementia, learning disabilities, mental health problems, stroke or head injuries who may lack capacity to make certain decisions.
The Act covers major decisions about someone’s property and affairs, healthcare treatment and where the person lives, as well as everyday decisions about personal care (such as what someone eats), where the person lacks capacity to make the decisions themselves.
You can find out more about the Act from the Office of the Public Guardian website link below.
Currently Northern Ireland does not have mental capacity legislation so mental capacity issues are dealt with under common law.
The Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability was set up in late 2002 to examine how services for people with mental illness or learning disabilities could be improved. On 31st October 2006, the Bamford Review closed formally.
Following the Bamford review a policy consultation document was produced - Legislative framework for mental capacity and mental health legislation in Northern Ireland – which advocates:
For more information see the Northern Ireland Executive website.
The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 provides ways to manage the financial and welfare affairs of people who are unable to manage them for themselves. You can find out more about this on the Scottish Executive website.
Note: for pdf files you will need to download adobe acrobat reader. To convert the pdf to alternative formats or for more information on accessibility go to access adobe.
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