The Mental Capacity Act 2005 Annual Review Conference 2024
October 17, 2024
Aspire, Leeds
Agenda and running order
Learn more about our speakers and topics here. We look forward to seeing you all on 17th October 2024.
08:30 Registration and welcome breakfast
09:00 - 09:15 Welcome
Alison Kaye, Director, Solicitor Advocate and Head of Switalskis Court of Protection
09:15 - 09:45 Keynote speech
The Honourable Mrs. Justice Theis, Vice President of the Court of Protection
09:45 – 10:45 Exploring the significance of best interests decisions in the Court of Protection
Joseph O’Brien KC and Parishil Patel KC
Joseph O’Brien KC and Parishil Patel KC will examine the challenges of appealing best interests decisions in the Court of Protection. Their talk will cover the legal framework, key Court of Appeal judgments, and the benefits and risks of pursuing appeals. The discussion explores whether the appeal process leads to meaningful outcomes or merely prolongs uncertainty, considering the emotional, financial, and practical costs.
10:45 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:45 Practitioner guidance when P is in Court of Protection and care proceedings
Natalia Levine
Natalia Levine will discuss guidance for practitioners when proceedings run concurrently and the importance of collaborative thinking between adult and child services. The talk will explore key case law in to highlight the pivotal role played by assessments in the Court of Protection in care proceedings.
11:45 – 12:30 Let’s talk about sex
Dr Chris Ince
Dr Ince will summarise and build upon the pertinent case law to discuss the judgement within a Local Authority vs ZX [2024]) relating to a young person's capacity to engage in sexual relations; he will further discuss the broader issue of assessment of capacity to engage in sexual relations within individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.
12:30 – 13:15 Financial capacity assessments
Dr Catriona McIntosh
Dr McIntosh will discuss borderline financial capacity assessments, which are used to determine whether someone lacks the capacity to make decisions about their financial affairs. She will discuss the need for behavioural evidence and practical assessments and the benefits of communication between a financial deputy and assessor.
13:15 – 14:15 Lunch
14:15 – 15:00 Revisiting transparency and third-party disclosure: Is there a need for limits to public access?
Lorraine Cavanagh KC
This talk examines the balance between transparency and privacy in the Court of Protection. Lorraine Cavanagh KC will discuss the benefits of public access, such as accountability, alongside the risks, including privacy breaches and distress to vulnerable individuals. The talk will cover legal principles, media involvement, and the management of sensitive information.
15:00 – 15:45 Practical insights: Five key aspects of housing law in the Court of Protection
Ben McCormack
Ben McCormack’s talk outlines the key aspects of housing law related to the Court of Protection, equipping you with the knowledge to navigate this complex area. It focuses on how housing issues intersect with decisions about mental capacity and provides practical steps to take when (for example) tenancy types, rehousing, evictions, or hoarding arise as issues in the Court of Protection cases.
15:45 – 16:30 Q&A session
Our Court of Protection Team
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Speaker biographies
Lorraine Cavanagh KC, Barrister
Lorraine Cavanagh read law at Manchester University and was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn in July 2000. Lorraine is the Birkenhead scholar of the Inn in the same year. Lorraine practises in all areas of children law, in the health and welfare law field of the Court of Protection and conducts judicial review and Human Rights claims with a focus on community care provision and child rights.
Dr Chris Ince, Consultant Psychiatrist
Dr Chris Ince currently works as a consultant psychiatrist within the specialist in-patient autism services based at Northgate Hospital. He is the Associate Medical Director (inpatient – North) and have oversight for the inpatient services at St George’s Park, Morpeth.
Dr Ince has a CCT in the psychiatry of learning disabilities and has long-standing experience in working with offenders, both with and without a learning disability. His work is both in community and secure in-patient setting, throughout the North East of England.
He is a core and higher trainer on the Northern Deanery Rotational Training Scheme and is also the training programme director – core (North).
He holds a post with the Care Quality Commission as a specialist advisor in mental health.
Natalia Levine, Barrister
Natalia Levine is a specialist in children law (both public and private), adult social care and in the Court of Protection.
She was called to the bar in 2007 and undertook pupillage in Leeds at Parklane Plowden Chambers before joining St John’s Buildings in 2022.
Natalia is accredited to receive instructions directly from members of the public through the Public Access Scheme.
Ben McCormack, Barrister
Ben McCormack has been a lawyer for over 20 years, specialising in mental capacity, public law and housing cases. Ben became Deputy Head of Chambers in March 2023.
He is used to working with people with mental illness, learning disabilities, autism and other mental impairments. Many of his clients have alcohol or drug addictions and are often disadvantaged as a result of poverty or limited education. Many do not speak English as a first language.
Ben regularly gives training to other lawyers, professionals and students about his areas of legal expertise. He is keen to ensure that the work of the courts is more easily understood and that legal practice is opened up to as wide a range of people as possible.
Dr Catriona McIntosh, Clinical Neuropsychologist
Dr Catriona McIntosh has specialist expertise in Neuropsychology, providing cognitive assessments, capacity assessments, therapy and rehabilitation to people with acquired brain injury and neurological conditions.
She has experience in working as a Clinical Lead managing complex cases of neurorehabilitation across a range of neurological disorders and across the life span. Her therapeutic specialties are in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, the Neurobehavioral Model and Cognitive interventions.
Joseph O'Brien KC, Head of the Court of Protection, St John's Buildings
For many years Joseph O'Brien has been recognised as a leader in the field of adult social care and Court of Protection proceedings. He is regularly instructed by local authorities, hospitals, CCGs and other health care providers. Joseph is also instructed by the Official Solicitor and family members.
Since the onset of the argument about what is ‘deprivation of liberty’, Joseph has been at the cutting edge of this jurisprudence. He has appeared in a number of the leading cases and lead in the Supreme Court in the case of P v Cheshire West and Chester Council [2014] UKSC 19.
Parishil Patel KC, 39 Essex Chambers
Parishil Patel KC has a wide ranging public law practice which encompasses:
- health
- community care
- local government (including regulation, audit and standards)
- telecommunications
- data protection and confidentiality
- prisons, immigration
- public international law
- incapacity
- and best interests
He has extensive experience of advising and acting for and against public bodies in judicial review claims (in the High Court). This includes claims brought challenging local and central government policy and involving statutory construction and in proceedings in various Tribunals. He also has extensive experience of arguing ECHR issues in domestic courts and advising on human rights in the policy context.
