Young People: Mental Capacity
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of criteria for (a) parental and (b) professional involvement in decision-making for young people who lack the capacity to make the appropriate decisions to keep themselves safe after they turn 18.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
People over the age of 18 years old come under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, which has the statutory principle that an individual must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established otherwise. All practicable steps must be taken to help any individual above 18 years old to make a decision by themselves, and if unsuccessful, then all decisions made on their behalf must be in their best interests.
On 18 October 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced the intention to launch a public consultation on the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) in the first half of 2026. The consultation will cover a revised Code of Practice and will incorporate changes in case law, legislation, and good practice in application of the MCA.
The LPS, as introduced by the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019, aims to deliver greater involvement of families and professionals in providing care to vulnerable people in circumstances that amount to a deprivation of liberty.
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