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Mental Capacity Act 2005

The ability to make decisions is called ‘Mental Capacity.’ The new Mental Capacity Act has implications for a huge number of us. These pages contain relevant and useful information and guidance for how it affects different groups, what you need to be aware of, and where to go for additional help.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a statutory framework to empower and protect vulnerable people who are not able to make their own decisions. It makes it clear who can take decisions, in which situations, and how they should go about this. It enables people to plan ahead for a time when they may lose capacity.

Guidance on the Act is provided in the Code of Practice  (1.25 MB). People who are placed under a duty to have regard to the Code include those working in Health and Social Care professions.

Those in Worcestershire who will be assessing capacity, or making a referral to an IMCA, or making ‘best interest decisions’, should use the documents contained on the assessment and IMCA referral working documents page.

Capacity Act Information
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The whole Act is underpinned by a set of  five key principles:

• A presumption of capacity - it must be assumed they have capacity to make decisions unless it is proved otherwise;
• The right for individuals to be supported to make their own decisions - before anyone concludes that they cannot;
• That individuals must retain the right to make what appear as eccentric or unwise decisions;
• Best interests – anything done for or on behalf of people without capacity must be in their best interests; and
• Least restrictive intervention – anything done for or on behalf of people without capacity should be the least restrictive option.

The guidance documents on these Mental Capacity Act pages are published by the Mental Capacity Implementation Programme (MCIP). MCIP is a joint government programme between the Department of Health, the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Public Guardianship Office and the Welsh Assembly Government that has been established to implement the organisation, process and procedures to launch the Mental Capacity Act in 2007. More information about these organisations and the Mental Capacity Act can be found on their respective websites, links to which are available on the useful links page.