Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill first day of report stage

The first day of the Lords Report stage on 21 November brought the first changes to the Bill and the first defeat for the Government. As expertly summarised by Tim Spencer-Lane, the key developments are:

1. The Government confirmed it would bring forward a definition of deprivation of liberty in the House of Commons
2. The Bill was extended to apply to 16 and 17 year olds
3. The term “unsound mind” was replaced by “mental disorder” as defined by the Mental Health Act
4. Care home home arrangements were amended so that the responsible body decides if the care home manager should make the necessary arrangements, or whether it will do so – and assessments cannot be carried out by anyone connected to the care home
5. The Bill was amended to require that medical & capacity assessments must be carried out by someone with the appropriate experience and knowledge
6. The Government agreed to bring forward amendments in the House of Commons to require that all cases in independent hospitals must be referred to an AMCP.
7. The Government suffered its first defeat on the Bill (202 to 188 votes) on the necessary & proportionate assessment: it now specifies that the assessment must consider whether the arrangements are necessary to prevent harm to the person, and proportionate in relation to the risk of harm to the person.
The Hansard transcript of the debate can be found here.

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