Ministry of Justice
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Ill-treatment or wilful neglect now a crime under the Mental Capacity Act 2005
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.
ENDS
