The words to use
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law on capacity in England and Wales for people aged 16 and over. It sets five principles, the test for capacity and the best-interests process.
- Gillick competence
- An under-16's ability to consent to a particular treatment, judged on their maturity and understanding of what it involves. From Gillick, House of Lords, 1985.
- Fraser guidelines
- The conditions for giving contraception or sexual health advice to an under-16 without their parents knowing. They sit alongside Gillick but are narrower.
- Best interests
- The basis for decisions about someone who lacks capacity. It weighs their wishes, feelings, beliefs and values, and the views of the people close to them.
- Lasting power of attorney (LPA)
- A legal document letting a named person make health and welfare decisions once someone lacks capacity. It covers life-sustaining treatment only if it expressly says so.
