Schedule 1 - Lasting powers of attorney: formalities
Mental Capacity Bill
11:00 am
Mr Tim Boswell (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Daventry, Conservative)
These amendments are a little more substantial than the previous one. They relate to conflicts of interest, which I do not need to speak about at length. All members of the Committee will be anxious to avoid conflicts of interest. From the evidence of Master Lush to the scrutiny Committee, sadly there clearly have been cases when conflicts of interest or distortions of interest have already happened, so we need not rehearse that argument.
The amendments would build in a process whereby, before the instrument was drawn up, there would be further consideration when it was asked whether there was a conflict of interest in a certain situation, whether a conflict of interest might arise and, if so, whether it would invalidate the procedure. In the operation of the lasting powers of attorney, there would also be provision either for existing conflicts of interest or for those that might arise subsequently.
The Minister will know better than I do, because he is a lawyer, that law firms, when giving advice to clients, are scrupulous in avoiding conflicts of interest and in requiring individual partners of the firm, for example, to withdraw from cases when they might be seen, in any sense, to be at conflict. They are professional bodies and they receive fees, so it is extremely important for public confidence that that should be the case.
I understand that such issues are often family situations. It is arguable—some of us have already touched on such matters; indeed, I made such a point on Second Reading—that in family situations in particular, conflicts of interest might arise between younger children of a marriage, for example, who want assets because they have their own family, and older people, whom they feel do not need them any more and
are hanging on to them. I understand that, but whether it is formally a conflict of interest I do not know. Perhaps the Minister can enlighten me.