Clause 9 - Lasting powers of attorney
Mental Capacity Bill
10:45 am
Mr Paul Burstow (Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Health; Sutton and Cheam, Liberal Democrat)
I make that assessment not from reading last Thursday's Hansard, but from the continuation of the debate in the context of the amendments before the Committee. I am concerned that subsection (4) says:
''The authority conferred by a lasting power of attorney is subject to . . . the provisions of this Act and, in particular, section 4 (best interests)''.
My point is that surely those other principles are, if anything, even more important in respect of whether or not an LPA is triggered in the first place. If a person still has capacity, the LPA should not be triggered. That is why I have raised my concerns, which I ask the Minister to consider in winding up.