Decision details

The Chair welcomed Brendan Lee, Head of Service Special Educational Needs and Disability, to the meeting.

The Committee was informed that the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 directly impacted on work undertaken within the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) service and subsequently officers had to have due regard for the remits of this legislation. The MCA had far reaching implications for the SEND service in relation to decisions that young people using their service were making with regard to their education and care. The MCA interacted with other key pieces of legislation such as the Children Act 1989 and SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years.

Within SEND, good progress had been made in a number of areas of the Work Plan (September 2016). Pathways had been developed in relation to how the Children with Disabilities Team (CwD) and Integrated Assessment and Monitoring Team (IA&M) work with children and young people to undertake capacity assessments and, where appropriate, consider what was in their best interests. These were currently being consulted on by a number of practitioners with various areas of expertise. The cohort of young people to whom the MCA was applicable had been identified and the procedure for prioritising these young people was being developed and would be implemented in due course. Training was being commissioned from April 2017. Learning from case law and casework within Lancashire was ongoing and would inform the development of procedures and practice guidance. In the last 12 months the CwD Team had made seven applications to the Court of Protection under the MCA with no criticism received from the work undertaken in these cases. The SEND Service had successfully built good links with Lancashire's Mental Capacity Act MCA Co-Ordinator in the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Team who was providing advice and guidance where requested and had strengthened links with Legal Services to offer on-going support. In addition the MCA Working Group incorporated professionals with a range of backgrounds and knowledge.

Questions and comments in relation to the report were as follows:

·  The SEND team had to consider if the children had the mental capacity to make their own decisions and understand the consequences of their actions before the team looked at deprivation of liberty.

·  Regarding the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), concerns were expressed over deprivation of liberty for children. The primary goal of the SEND team was to protect the children. The MCA was about protecting liberty. It was very challenging for foster services and care services. There was a huge piece of legislation in regards to the MCA and deprivation of liberty with many complexities attached to it.

·  Members felt there was scope for a briefing on the MCA and deprivation of liberty for all County Councillors. The SEND DoLs Sub-Group had felt that that this was a difficult and complex area of work and asked how far LCC could go as a local authority ensuring all the procedures were in place and children were protected

Resolved:

1.  The Committee noted the progress made so far in relation to the implementation of the MCA within SEND and the development of policy, procedures and processes being developed to support compliant practice and positive outcomes for young people.

2.  The Committee requested an update report in six months.