Clause 4 - Best interests
Mental Capacity Bill
9:30 am
Mr Tim Boswell (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Daventry, Conservative)
Very simply and, I fear, possibly simplistically, I seek to summarise the Minister's argument. As I understand it, his contention is that treatment, when considered by a professional person—a clinician—is to be interpreted as action being taken, whatever is appropriate, in the person's best interests. Our concern is that they are secured as an objective principle. The clinician's duty is to see how we get there.