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There are going to be sweeping changes to the Mental Health Act, and people who would not come with the provisions of that Act, might well be affected by two new government bills... and they will have some impact on the method of payment, and who has the right to receive those payments… If the two bills are passed as they stand, there is potential for conflict between these two acts, and it is interesting to note that only one bill appears on the bills site posted above, (though I think the Mental Health Bill is still in very draft stage?)....
The potential Acts are, "The Mental Health Bill" and the "Mental Capacity Bill"... Of these, the one that impacts most on rights to benefit claimants is the Mental Capacity Bill... which widens and expands upon the definition those who are able to look after their own affairs, and those who can not, or are to be treated as such…
However, the DCA have already published some draft guidance on that bill, and is does make some tiny reference to social security payments... Though you might want to Google search to find any other publications, but any you do find will probably be responses to the Bill, and if there is an election in May, it is my understanding that this bill will be ‘lost’, for lack of Parliamentary time, so I am unsure how much effort has been put into amending it… You can find the draft guidance at:
www.dca.gov.uk/menincap/mcbdraftcode.pdf
There have also been articles in the Guardian about these two bills over recent months, so perhaps thats where the original poster saw them?
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