This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Change the definition of Mental Capacity to include hoarding and irrationality!
Here is the current explanation of Mental Capacity:
Someone lacking capacity - because of an illness or disability such as a mental health problem, dementia or a learning disability - cannot do one or more of the four things.
This does not include hoarding or irrationality.
More details
A review of the Mental Capacity definition to include hoarding and irrationality e.g. not having heating on during the winter, not bathing or showering, unable to make logical decisions.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 states that a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time they are unable to make a decision for themself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/section/2
The Government has published a code of practice on the Mental Capacity Act about what it means in practice: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/921428/Mental-capacity-act-code-of-practice.pdf
The guidance states that making a decision that is obviously irrational does not necessarily mean someone lacks capacity, but there might be need for further investigation, taking into account the person’s past decisions and choices.
Deciding whether a person lacks mental capacity, as defined under the Mental Capacity Act is ultimately a matter for the courts.
We could accept a petition requesting that the Mental Capacity Act be changed, but it would need to be clear exactly what changes you wanted to be made. We couldn't accept a petition that made requests that are extreme or offensive, which could include requests for people to be treated as lacking mental capacity unless there is a good reason for this.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.