Report on the Mental Capacity Bill

Abstract

The purpose of the Bill is to introduce mental capacity legislation and reform mental health law in Northern Ireland. This approach of combining mental capacity and mental health legislation within a single Bill was a key recommendation of a report produced as part of the Bamford Review. That report concluded that a single legislative framework would help reduce the stigma associated with having separate mental health law and would provide an opportunity to enhance protections for people who are unable to make a specific decision in relation to their health, welfare or finances because of a lack of capacity. It also recommended that the same provisions apply to those people subject to the criminal justice system.