Clause 3 - Inability to make decisions
Mental Capacity Bill
4:00 pm
Mrs Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton, Conservative)
May I ask the Minister for clarification on the inability to retain information, as outlined in subsection (1)(b)? Subsection (2) states:
''The fact that a person is able to retain the information relevant to a decision for a short period only does not prevent him from being regarded as able to make the decision.''
Can he clarify the provision? When I read it, I envisaged a scenario in which someone would be regarded as incapable of making a decision about residential care, for example, because he was unable to retain the information. However, it would be common for someone who has talked to carers and others about moving into residential care and who has been taken to look around a particular home to have forgotten all about the initial experience on being admitted a few weeks later. I wonder whether there is a contradiction in the clause and the meaning of ''a short period'' under subsection (2).