Care England Expresses Concerns with Mental Capacity Bill

Care England, the largest representative body for independent providers of adult social care remains concerned about the loop holes in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill. On Tuesday the Government published its response to two reports concerning the Reform of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill published last year by the Join Committee on Human Rights.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Care England Chief Executive, says:
“The Government’s response merits looking at in detail since it highlights many of the issues surrounding the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill that have been, and continue to be, of widespread concern”.

The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill, now awaiting Royal Assent, had a tricky ride through Parliament with Parliamentarians from both Houses and across all parties expressing concern about inadequate safeguards. The Government’s response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights can be found here https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/news-parliament-2017/deprivation-liberty-safeguards-mental-capacity-bill-govt-response-17-19/

Martin Green continues:
“This is a classic case of putting the cart before the horses as many of the concerns should have been sorted out in primary legislation. We remain very exercised about the number of contentious practice areas that, we are told, will be clarified and addressed in the new Code of Practice. There appears a real risk that matters belonging in primary legislation are being left for the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) Code, which hopefully will appear as part of the revised wider Mental Capacity Act (MCA) code”.