“The test for whether a person had capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to decide was specific to the decision in question in its particular factual matrix and context.”
WLR Daily, 1st May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“Hotak v Southwark LBC [2013] EWCA Civ 515 concerned a short point on whether an authority was entitled to have regard to the assistance that a homeless person would receive, in the event he became homeless, when determining whether he was vulnerable or not.”
NearlyLegal, 15th May 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
“The issue of identifying mental impairment in relation to a defendant is one which requires careful thought, skill and tact from the criminal practitioner. Practical examples of the way in which these conditions may manifest themselves are useful. A purely academic approach may not be sufficient when dealing with the vulnerable clients that might be encountered.”
One Inner Temple Lane, 8th May 2013
Source: www.1itl.com
“It may seem strange that the same individual, with learning difficulties, can be considered to have capacity to marry, but not the capacity to decide whether to live with the person they have espoused. What, in essence, is marriage, that puts it on such a different footing to informal cohabitation?”
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Child protection rules were breached when a teenager with learning difficulties was held in a court cell for adults, the High Court has ruled.”
BBC News, 4th May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A man with severe learning difficulties died from natural causes contributed to by neglect at a Swansea hospital, a coroner has ruled.”
BBC News, 2nd May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“On 4 April, a matter of days after the cuts to civil legal aid were brought into effect, Chris Grayling has announced the Government’s intention to cut legal aid for prisoners seeking to bring proceedings for judicial review of decisions relating to their treatment or the conditions of their confinement. He complains that £4 million pounds in legal aid is spent annually on such complaints and says that they can be perfectly adequately dealt with by the internal prison complaints system. His justification for the cuts makes neither financial nor constitutional sense and begs the question, what are his true motives?”
LegalVoice, 18th April 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“NHS doctors are more likely to allow patients to die if they suffer from a mental disability, a damning Government-backed report suggests.”
Daily Telegraph, 19th March 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The statutory defence in section 5 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 did not impose impossible demands on those who did acts in connection with the care or treatment of others who lacked capacity. It required no more than what was reasonable, practical and appropriate. What that entailed depended on all the circumstances.”
WLR Daily, 14th February 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“The parents of a ‘tactile’ and ‘affectionate’ woman with Down’s syndrome have been forbidden from having her sterilised to ally their fears that she might become pregnant.”
Daily Telegraph, 16th February 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Vulnerable young offenders are at risk of serious and long-term problems because the youth justice system is failing to support their needs, according to child welfare charities and campaign groups. Figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) last week revealed a 21% increase in the number of young people in custody self-harming between 2010‑11 and 2011-12. Three children died in custody during 2011-12, while incidents of physical restraint rose by 17% year on year.”
The Guardian, 5th February 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The father of an autistic boy restrained by Metropolitan Police officers after he jumped into a swimming pool has attacked the force for challenging a ruling against them.”
BBC News, 22nd January 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“It will be interesting to watch the reception of a recent Court of Protection case, as yet unreported, in which a woman with profound learning difficulties was found to have capacity to decide not to terminate her pregnancy.”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 21st January 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
“This paper considers developments in relation to the law on Special Educational Needs over the last year. It will address three main areas:
(1) recent SEN cases;
(2) practice and procedure issues;
(3) the Children and Families Bill.”
Full story (PDF)
11 KBW, November 2012
Source: www.11kbw.com
“This paper concentrates on three recent cases concerning different aspects of the emerging law on Academies:
(1) Consultation on Academy conversions under s.5 Academies Act 2010 (‘the 2010
Act’);
(2) The extent of the obligation on Academies (both pre and post 2010 Act) to admit
children with a statement of Special Educational Needs (‘SSEN’); and
(3) The new Academy ‘presumption’ in s.6A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.”
Full story (PDF)
11 KBW, 4th December 2012
Source: www.11kbw.com
“Ministers will on Monday order a programme of action intended to remove up to 1,500 people with learning disabilities and autism from private hospitals such as the Winterbourne View unit where a regime of abuse and humiliation was exposed.”
The Guardian, 10th December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Taitt v State of Trinidad and Tobago [2012] UKPC 38; [2012] WLR (D) 317
“If counsel at trial had not raised the issue of a defendant having a learning difficulty which made him unfit to plead, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council would not consider the matter on appeal unless there had clearly been a miscarriage of justice.”
WLR Daily, 8th November 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“The day before our seminar on the Court of Protection and the right to autonomy, the Strasbourg Court has ruled on a closely related issue in a fascinating challenge to the role of the Official Solicitor in making decisions on behalf of individuals who are for one reason or another unable to act for themselves.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 10th October 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
