[I set out here a press release from the Office of the Public Guardian – the ‘clarification’ relates to a… Read more
Category: Comments
Transparency in the Court of Protection – what is it good for and how long should restrictions last?
By accident or design, Poole J appears to have found himself the Tier 3 transparency guru. In Re Gardner (Deceased)(Duration… Read more
Wishing won’t make it so – urban myths around s.4B MCA 2005
I was contacted, again, by a health care professional who had been told with complete confidence that the new version… Read more
Anticipating the reasonableness of responses – time-specific capacity in action
Darlington Borough Council v AW & Ors [2025] EWCOP 33 (T3), decided in August 2025, but only published more recently,… Read more
The Court of Protection: a Welsh language primer in key caselaw
TIRE v Carmarthenshire County Council [2024] EWCOP 81 (T2) is, as far as I know (but we would welcome correction)… Read more
Court of Protection Handbook 5th edition – and updated website
The new (2025, 5th) edition of the Court of Protection Handbook is now available, and accompanying website has been updated… Read more
Law Commission 14th programme of law reform – and a vulnerable adults project on the horizon?
The Law Commission of England & Wales published its 14th programme of law reform on 4 September – i.e. its… Read more
SCIE sounds the alarm on MCA reform
The Social Care Institute for Excellence is not normally an alarmist body, which makes its recent (26 August 2025) statement… Read more
“There are more things in heaven and earth that are dreamt of in the philosophy of NHS treatment” – a Court of Protection story
The flipside of the intense focus on the wishes, feelings, beliefs and values of the person required by s.4 MCA… Read more
When does a Court of Protection order do more harm than good? Anorexia, the Court of Protection, and the ‘impossible burden’
Patricia’s Father & Ors v Patricia & Ors [2025] EWCOP 30 (T3) is a challenging case at a number of… Read more