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.

1,126 applications relating to deprivation of liberty were between July and September 2018, up 5% on the number made in the same quarter last year. However, orders made decreased by 7% over the same period, from 569 to 610 respectively.  

Alongside those proceedings, 7,900 applications were made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), down 2%, 53% of which related to applications for appointment of a property and affairs deputy. In comparison, there were 9,148 orders made under the MCA, 9% down, 33% of which related to the appointment of a deputy for property and affairs. 

As for LPAs, 201,753 were received, up 4%. The rate of increase is now leveling off after the explosion of applications following the introduction of online applications in 2015. There were 2,480 Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) in July to September 2018, down 11% on the equivalent quarter in 2017. 

The full report and accompanying table can be found here. 

There were 1,166 applications relating to deprivation of liberty in April to June 2018, up 27% on the equivalent quarter in 2017 according to the latest Family Court Statistics bulletin published on 27th September.

This rise is in comparison with a 19% drop in the number of deprivation of liberty orders made over the same period.

​Other insights arising from the latest figures are that:

• there were 7,414 applications made under the MCA, down 3% on the equivalent quarter in 2017 (7,623 applications). 48% of these related to applications for appointment of a property and affairs deputy  
• in comparison, there were 9,050 orders made under the MCA, down 11% on the same quarter in 2017. 34% of the orders related to the appointment of a deputy for property and affairs 
• 197,836 LPAs were received up 2%, a slowing of the rapid increase in such applications following the launch of the online application service in 2015
• 2,423 EPAs were received down 18% 

The full report can be found on the Gov.uk website.

The Law Society has issued a rather damning briefing on the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill 2018 that this week moved to a Lords committee stage.

While agreeing that simplification is needed and acknowledging that there are resource constraints, these constraints are “insufficient justification for not implementing fully the safeguards recommended by the Law Commission.” 

The Briefing sets out six recommendations for change, what the authors feel should be the principles underpinning the new framework and why they are concerned that the Bill does not meet those principles as it includes:

• "an already overly complex scheme being further complicated by a replacement scheme which instead of placing the cared-for person at the centre of the process, significantly dilutes and even removes the existing protections for them
• the risk of increased burdens on local authorities who will bear ultimate responsibility for mistakes and poor implementation rather than building on the learning from the problems with DoLS and retaining those elements that have been effective whilst removing those which are unnecessary and bureaucratic
• the cared-for person will not be at the centre of the process but side-lined with decisions being made without proper or even basic protections
• the removal of the invaluable role of Best Interests Assessors and Relevant Person’s Representatives would leave vulnerable people without protection from unnecessary detention."

The full briefing is available on the Law Society website.

You can stay up to date with progress of the Bill, and read the latest version, on the Parliament website.