Mental Capacity Report – November 2026

Welcome to the November 2026 Mental Capacity Report. Highlights this month include:

1. In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: key themes from post-AGNI caselaw to date, and two medical treatment decisions showing doctors getting it right;
2. In the Property and Affairs Report: self-dealing in the rearview mirror, dismay at deputy delegation and blithe ignorance of the obligations on a deputy as regards settlement of monies;
3. In the Practice and Procedure Report: personal welfare orders after HB;
4. In the Mental Health Matters Report: the Mental health conditions, ADHD and autism prevalence review; and Royal College of Psychiatrists on coercion and human rights;
5. In the Children’s Capacity Report: information-sharing as regards children, and new procedural rules relating to children in ECtHR cases;
6. In the Wider Context Report: deprivation of liberty before Strasbourg, guidance on eating and drinking at acknowledged risk, and an important change of position relating to Jehovah’s Witnesses;
7. In the Scotland Report: the death of a Bill that never was, and a new appointment for the Mental Welfare Commission.

With huge thanks to Neil Allen, we have set up a running table of post-AGNI cases allowing rapid identification of the types of scenarios being considered, and the results. The case-tracker can be found here, a page where we also host an ‘AGNI annex’ summarising and commenting on the cases decided in October.

You can find our past issues, our case summaries, and more on our dedicated sub-site here, where you can also sign up to the Mental Capacity Report.