Legal Aspects of Mental Capacity by Bridgit Dimond was published in November 2007. Significant changes have been taking place since that time and are brought to your attention below under the headings ‘Accessing information’ and ‘Significant development and changes’.

Accessing information

Updates on mental capacity laws, rules and guidance can be obtained from the Ministry of Justice website (which has taken over from the Department of Constitutional Affairs) www.justice.gov.uk

The Office of Public Guardian also provides booklets, guidance, forms and information on Lasting Powers of Attorney, the OPG and Court of Protection Service and other aspects of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). It also provides copies of the MCA UPDATE service booklets. Its website can be found at www.publicguardian.gov.uk

The Department of Health (DH) also provides information and guidance on the MCA including an explanatory memorandum to the deprivation of liberty safeguards supplement to the MCA Code of Practice. The DH provides a direct link to the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate Service, including a list of IMCA providers. The DH also has published 5 sets of training materials on the MCA covering a core set, a mental health set, a residential accommodation set, a community care and primary care set and acute hospitals set. They can be downloaded from the DH website at www.dh.gov.uk

These websites should be searched regularly for updates.

To obtain by email your personal copy of the MCAUPDATE, email [email protected]

The National Research Ethics Service has issued supporting guidance and forms for applicants regarding applications for approval of research under sections 30 and 34 of the Act. The guidance can be accessed on its website at http://www.nres.uk/applicants/index.htm

Significant developments and changes

On October 2007 the new Court of Protection, the new Office of Public Guardian and the new Independent Mental Capacity Advocate Service in Wales were launched. On 1 October 2007 the Mental Capacity Implementation Programme handed over its operation to the Office of Public Guardian and ceased to exist.

The Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards: Standards Authorisations, Assessments and Ordinary Residence) Regulations SI 2008 No 1858 come into force on 3 November 2008. They can be accessed on the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk

Code of Practice: Supplement on deprivation of liberty safeguards (The Bournewood Safeguards)
A Mental Capacity Act deprivation of liberty safeguards Code of Practice was laid before Parliament in June 2008 as a supplement to the main MCA Code of Practice. The supplement is to come into force in April 2009.

Independent Mental Capacity Advocates
The first ever IMCA annual conference organised by the Action for Advocacy was held in London in April 2008 and was attended by over 200 IMCAs.

Office of Public Guardian annual report
This was published in August 2008 and showed widespread use of the MCA. Nearly 3 times more people have applied to register their LPA than in previous years; the number of applications to the Court of Protection for a finance or health and welfare decision have exceeded expectations; nearly three times more investigations into the actions of deputies and attorneys compared to last year and more than 50 applications have been made to the Court of Protection by the Public Guardian when there are concerns about a deputy or attorney.

Annual general meeting of the Public Guardian Board
The AGM is to take place on 7 October 2008 and is open to members of the public, but places are limited. Contact should be made with the Secretariat to the PGB as soon as possible by emailing [email protected] or by telephoning 020 7664 7235.