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Mental Capacity Report - November 2020

Welcome to the November 2020 Mental Capacity Report. Highlights this month include:

(1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: updated DHSC MCA/DoLS COVID-19 guidance, an important LPS update, and the judicial eye of Sauron descends on new areas to consider (ir)relevant information;

(2) In the Property and Affairs Report: a complex case about when the settlement of an inheritance;

(3) In the Practice and Procedure Report: for how long does a Court of Protection judgment remain binding, and helpful guidance for experts reporting upon capacity;

(4) In the Wider Context Report: challenging reports about the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 upon those with learning disability, young people with learning disability and autism under detention, and capacity and public hearings before the Mental Health Tribunal;

(5) In the Scotland Report: discharge from hospital without proper consideration of ECHR rights.

You can watch Alex's walkthrough of this month's report here.

Steve Broach and Rosie Scott have also produced a video in which they discuss the recent decision in A Local Authority v GP and RP, a case featured in this month's report which is notable for consideration of the 'relevant information' in assessing a young person's capacity to make decisions relating to their education and care. Steve and Rosie highlight some key features of the judgment and consider how it may influence the court's approach in future cases. You can watch the video here.

You can find our past issues, our case summaries, and more on our dedicated sub-site here, where you can also find updated versions of both our capacity and best interests guides. We have taken a deliberate decision not to cover all the host of COVID-19 related matters that might have a tangential impact upon mental capacity in the Report, not least because the picture continues to change relatively rapidly. Chambers has created a dedicated COVID-19 page with resources, seminars, and more, here; Alex maintains a resources page for MCA and COVID-19 here and Neil has resources on his website here.

If you want more information on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which we frequently refer to in this Report, we suggest you go to the Small Places website run by Lucy Series of Cardiff University.

Click here for the screen-friendly version of the Report

Click here for the print-friendly version of the Report