The issue of visiting in care homes is a distinctly hot topic at the time of writing (May 2026). Linked,… Read more
The contact constraints on the Court of Protection
Category: Comments
Instructing experts, and how long does the leash have to be for the acid test to be satisfied?
Bristol City Council v CC & Ors [2026] EWCOP 19 (T3) is both an important and an interesting decision. It is… Read more
Revisiting habitual residence – when and how the Court of Protection can do so
The case of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council v CK & Ors [2025] EWCOP 47 (T3) is the sequel… Read more
The COVID-19 inquiry – two key healthcare recommendations
I have not written much about the COVID-19 inquiry on this site. In part this is because, having been very… Read more
An ‘intolerable’ deprivation of liberty – and the need for reasons
No one will ever entirely fill the shoes of the late Sir James Munby, one of whose defining characteristics was… Read more
Capacity as a social construct, and the problem of untangling the spider’s web
Many, including, me, who read the judgment of Poole J in SW v Nottingham City Council & Anor [2025] EWCOP 53… Read more
Personal welfare deputies – Lawson and Mottram strikes back?
Personal welfare deputyship cases are like buses – you wait ages, and then three come along all at once. After… Read more
Personal welfare deputies, the Court of Protection and Article 8 ECHR
Re XY [2025] EWCOP 55 (T2)[1] is an important decision about the powers of welfare deputies. The specific facts of… Read more
Adult safeguarding, Dame Louise Casey and gaps in the law
Dame Louise Casey, leading an independent commission into adult social care, has recently (3 March) written to the Secretary of… Read more
Is there space for clinical decision-making in relation to incapacitated adults? The CA pronounces
The Court of Appeal in Townsend v Epsom & Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust [2026] EWCA Civ 195 has handed… Read more