Clause 7 - Payment for necessary goods and services
Mental Capacity Bill
4:15 pm
Mrs Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton, Conservative)
We are talking about people who lack capacity, and one assumes that the contract and purchase are made by a third party on their behalf, because they would not be contracting directly with people. My interpretation of the clause is that the third party is making the contract or purchase for P. For example, if D were looking at a range of wheelchairs for P, and there were certain categories of wheelchair that they would get assistance to purchase, it would be inappropriate for D to contract on P's behalf for something that was outside their means. In addition, however, where, because of means-tested benefits, it was applicable for them to have support in purchasing such a thing, that would need to be taken into account. I am not making myself clear, Mr. Cran, and I am sorry about that—and I can see that you are trying to encourage me to wind up. It would not be acceptable for D to purchase a super-duper catalogue wheelchair well in excess of the needs, because P's means would not cover it, and something lesser might do.