Mental Capacity

The legal position in relation to decision making for adults who lack capacity is complex.  The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2007 offers guidance on the assessment of capacity and the possibility of enhancing a person’s capacity in order for them to make a decision or to enter a plea. Capacity depends upon an individual’s understanding rather than the status or outcome of any decisions made.   Capacity is a question of fact to be determined by a court on all the available evidence of which the views of a specialist assessor only comprise a part.

Our mental capacity assessments adhere to the British Psychological Society guidance on What Makes a Good Assessment of Capacity (2019) produced by the Mental Capacity Advisory Group (BPS) and include:

• Assessments of intellectual (intelligence quotient, IQ) and cognitive functioning, using approved and standardised cognitive assessment tests.
• Assessments of coping and problem solving and decision making.
• Assessments of cognitive impairment.

Where appropriate, we complete Capacity Certificates and make recommendations on enhancing a person’s capacity to facilitate decision making, or to support the person in civil, family, and criminal legal proceedings, and in the Court of Protection (COP).