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Mental Capacity

Asked by Chris CoghlanLiberal DemocratMinistry of JusticeTabled Answered 25 June 2026UIN 11966

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mental capacity assessments were undertaken by the Court of Protection in the last three years; and, of these, how many came back confirming lack of capacity reported per year in each of the last three years.

Answered by Catherine Atkinson

The Court of Protection does not carry out mental capacity assessments.

Assessments of an individual’s capacity are carried out by medical professionals and submitted as supporting evidence for applications to the court.

The Court of Protection statistics on the volume of applications and orders made by the court under the Mental Capacity Act are available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2025 .

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