Aims

This study will make a significant contribution to scholarship in a context where there is little current research. Recent statutes in England & Wales (2005), Scotland (2000), Northern Ireland (2016) and Republic of Ireland (2015) have meant new engagement with questions regarding the rights of adults whose capacity is questioned, including people with a learning disability. There has been critique of the operation of the Mental Capacity Act in relation to deprivation of liberty and best interest decisions (Clough 2017). The Government has committed to a White Paper by the end of 2019 which will overhaul the Mental Health Act and have implications for its interaction with the Mental Capacity Act. The urgency for change is in regard to deprivation of liberty, rightly so. Yet if there is change on the horizon for the Mental Capacity Act, research evidence is required to understand its implications in all settings including research.

This study will inform policy through HRA guidance and support charities like MENCAP to influence policies of inclusion and question notions of the ‘public’ in health research.

Impact will be made on the practice of RECs and researchers, rethinking the assumptions behind the operation of capacity and consent and challenging the norms ideas of inclusion are based upon. Its findings will be applicable to practice in social work, mental health services and law.

There is a momentum building evaluating mental capacity assessment and autonomy in medical, philosophical and legal contexts (e.g. Mental Health and Justice) yet the health research context is neglected. My work will introduce previously unexplored dimensions, and an under-researched context to reframe discussions in philosophy, socio-legal studies, disability studies and sociology.