Commission urges mental health review

THE LAW Commission has called for urgent reform of mental incapacity law following its exhaustive five-year study.

A nine-point plan has been put forward to plug the "glaring gaps" in the current law on substitute decision-making.

And it has come up with a string of other recommendations to protect vulnerable people from harm. Commissioners claim that the current law is "outdated and ineffective".

Chair Mr Justice Brooke says the report "ushers in a new era for those who care for the mentally incapacitated".

It respects people's wishes to take their own decisions where possible, gives carers powers to take decisions and provides a structure where courts can take decisions in place of the hole which currently exists, he says.