Sarah Castle has been appointed to the role of Official Solicitor and Public Trustee.

Sarah has more than 20 years’ experience working in legal services and handling child protection issues for local government in Kent and Berkshire. She will be joining OSPT from a role at Reading Borough Council. She will take up this post from 4 July 2019.

The Ministry of Justice has opened a call for evidence on how it should revise the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice.

The Call for Evidence will "seek to establish the extent to which the current Code of Practice reflects changes in case law and lessons learned through practical use of the Code of Practice over the last 11 years."

The consultation takes the form of an online survey with 39 questions presented into sections reflecting the current chapters of the Code. Helpfully you can save your responses and return later to complete the survey. Submissions close on 7th March 2019.

The survey can be accessed on the MoJ website here.

Having determined that the Patient, TP, lacked capacity as to residence, care and contact, the court now had to determine whether it would be in her best interests to return to live with the person (FW) who the court had already found to have been exploiting her. The court determined that she should not return in the short term but that her situation would be reviewed.

Read the background to the case here.

The court was satisfied that if TP returned, as she wished, to FW her needs would not be met and her best interests would not be served. Although the court gave weight to TP's wishes, her wishes at this stage and in light of the evidence could not outweigh the harm to which she would be exposed in FW's care.

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii

Hearing to determine whether the Patient lacked capacity in the relevent areas. The court ruled that she did lack capacity in relation to residence, care and contact, and the ability to conduct these proceedings or enter into a tenancy agreement. 

Click here for a summary of the facts and background to the case.

​Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii

​Fact finding hearing to determine whether the Local Authority's allegations against the person purportedly looking after her were made out. The court made most of the findings the Local Authority sought.