New Clause 6
Charities Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Tom Levitt (PPS (Rt Hon Hilary Benn, Secretary of State), Department for International Development; High Peak, Labour)
With all due respect to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East, who is doing the Committee a service by raising the matter, he has confused learning disability with the incapacity to make decisions on one’s own rights. There is a huge difference in those two definitions. While there may be a grey area in between them, we must not assume that those with learning difficulties are not capable of making decisions in their own right. Will my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary comment on a situation in which an existing trustee had a stroke and a power of attorney is appointed? Would the person who acts as power of attorney be able to act for the trustee under such circumstances?