Ill-treatment or wilful
neglect now a crime under the Mental Capacity Act 2005
DEPARTMENT FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS News Release (No:032/07) issued by The
Government News Network on 29 March 2007
Carers who
ill-treat or wilfully neglect a person lacking mental capacity
will be committing a crime under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 from
1 April 2007.
The new offence will apply to anyone caring for a person who
lacks capacity to make decisions for themselves, including family
carers, healthcare and social care staff in hospital or care homes
and those providing care in a person's home. Those protected
by the new offence include people with learning disabilities,
dementia, or brain injuries.
Constitutional Affairs Minister Cathy Ashton said:
"Mistreating people who cannot make decisions for themselves
is wrong. This new criminal offence clearly conveys our
determination to put a stop to it.
"From April, ill-treating or wilfully neglecting a person
lacking mental capacity will be a criminal offence, to protect
some of the most vulnerable people in the country.
Carers will be guilty of ill treatment if they have either
deliberately ill-treated someone or been reckless in the way they
treated that person. The offence of wilful neglect will depend on
circumstances, but usually means that a person has deliberately
failed to carry out an act they knew they had a duty to do.
The new offence carries a range of penalties from a fine to a
prison sentence of up to five years or both. Notes to Editors
1. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 received Royal Assent on 7 April
2005. Some of the Act is due to come into effect in April 2007 and
the rest commences in October 2007. 2. Further information about
the Mental Capacity Act is available on the DCA website:
http://www.dca.gov.uk/capacity/index.htm.
http://www.dca.gov.uk
ENDS