Deputy Services
The
Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into force on 1 October 2007. The Act,
covering England & Wales, provides a statutory framework for people who
lack capacity to make decisions for them.. For a copy of the Act see the
following:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050009_en_1
There
are five key principles in the Act:
·
Every adult has the right to make his or her own decisions and must be
assumed to have capacity to make them unless it is proved otherwise.
·
A person must be given all practicable help before anyone treats them as not
being able to make their own decisions.
·
Just because an individual makes what might be seen as an unwise decision,
they should not be treated as lacking capacity to make that decision.
·
Anything done or any decision made on behalf of a person who lacks capacity
must be done in their best interests.
·
Anything done for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity should be the
least restrictive of their basic rights and freedoms.
The Court of Protection and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) govern decisions or orders on welfare matters in addition to
financial matters. The Court has powers to appoint financial or welfare
deputies. With effect from 1 October 2007 all existing receivers including the
Official Solicitor became financial deputies.
Further information about the role of deputies look at the following link:
http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/mca/code-of-practice.htm
or contact Mark Munro at our Harlescott office and Mary
Morgan at our Whitchurch office.
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