Policy

Mental Capacity Bill

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The Mental Capacity Bill was described as a measure ‘to govern decision-making on behalf of other adults, both where they lose mental capacity at some point in their lives, for example as a result of dementia or brain injury, and where the incapacitating condition has been present since birth’. The Academy’s interest in the Bill arose from the inclusion of new rules to govern research involving adults who lack capacity, covered in sections 30-33.

Whilst the Academy welcomed the Bill, there were concerns that some of the provisions in sections 30-33 may inadvertently inhibit medical research, particularly in the field of emergency care. During the passage of the Bill through Parliament, the Academy, together with the Medical Research Council, Royal College of Physicians and Wellcome Trust, identified points for clarification and developed a set of proposed amendments. These were collected into a briefing ahead of the Second Reading of the Bill in the House of Lords.

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• Briefing for Second Reading of Mental Capacity Bill in House of Lords [263.65k]

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