Commenting on the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill which is
reaching the committee stage where it will be scrutinised by
Lords, Glen Garrod, President of the Association of Directors of
Adult Social Services (ADASS), said:
“Supporting the safeguarding of people’s rights where they may
not have the capacity to do is a fundamentally important
safeguard for extremely vulnerable people.
“We supported the Government's intention to review how this
legislation was working following the Cheshire West judgement
and, the subsequent work by the Law Commission. However we have
serious concerns about how the current Bill is drafted, in
particular around the expectation that care home managers will be
responsible for the assessments that are required to authorise
the deprivation of a person’s liberty, when that person lives in
a care home. This raises concerns regarding real or perceived
conflicts of interest and capacity and capability.
“Planning care and assessing whether deprivation of liberty is in
a person’s best interest when they are unable to decide for
themselves are completely different things.
“It is essential these issues are fully understood and that the
implications are clear for local authorities as both commissioner
and responsible body under this Bill.
“What is of critical importance however is that the system that
replaces DoLS has to be an improvement on its predecessor, not
least for the sake of those who need it to safeguard and protect
their human rights.”
