The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) is an important law for people with a learning disability. Every adult, whatever their disability, has the right to make their own decisions wherever possible.
People should always support a person to make their own decisions if they can. This might mean giving them information in a format that they can understand (for example this might be easy read information for a person with a learning disability) or explaining something in a different way.
But if a decision is too big or complicated for a person to make, even with appropriate information and support, then people supporting them must make a ‘best interests’ decision for them
To find out more about the Mental Capacity Act:
- visit the Mencap website for a parent/ carer guide
- read the MCA easy read guide from local gov partnerships.
Become a deputy under the MCA
If someone has lack of mental capacity, you can apply to become their deputy. This means they cannot make a decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made. They may still be able to make decisions for themselves at certain times.
People may lack mental capacity because, for example, they’ve had a serious brain injury or illness or they have severe learning disabilities. As a deputy, you’ll be authorised by the Court of Protection to make decisions on their behalf.