Baroness Lawlor (Con)

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

I have difficulty with the noble and learned Lord’s answer in respect of the Mental Capacity Act. He is absolutely right to say that, if you do not have capacity, you cannot avail yourself of this, but the Mental Capacity Act also says that you should not be judged not to have capacity if, to paraphrase, you cannot retain relevant information over a period of time, as referred to in Amendment 107, from the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, or, as referred to in my amendment, you can understand relevant matters in simplistic, visual or other ways appropriate to you. To my mind, that suggests that the Mental Capacity Act, in making exceptions about having capacity, is actually unsuitable for this. We hear all the time about the earlier part—and the noble and learned Lord is absolutely right—but it is those exceptions to the judgment on having capacity that worry me. They are not suitable for this. Will the noble and learned Lord explain why that inconsistency in judging capacity is suitable for the measure that he is proposing?

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