Clause 33 - Additional safeguards
Mental Capacity Bill
10:15 am
Mr Paul Burstow (Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Health; Sutton and Cheam, Liberal Democrat)
I support the amendment, which would achieve a helpful further development of the role of LPAs in research. LPAs could be used in such a way because it is up to individuals to decide what they want to stipulate in such procedure. Has the Minister been
persuaded by the representations that all members of the Committee have received from Fiona Randall, a consultant at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospital? Her helpful letter was referred to in previous sittings. She has made some telling points, particularly on the need for such matters to be clearly documented and for advance statements to be clearly documented and signed. Will the Minister comment on that, especially the fact that such decisions need to be in a written form? The Bill clearly states that LPAs must be in a written form, but, according to representations that we have received, advance statements also need to be in a written form.