The LPS policy team at the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed in its March 2022 update that it expects to launch the public consultation on LPS ‘very soon’. It also confirms that the consultation on the draft regulations and draft Code of Practice for the Mental Capacity Act and the LPS will run for 16 weeks – and not the original 12 weeks to take account of local government elections taking place in May. Our last update in December 2021 confirmed that the Department was no longer aiming to implement LPS by April 2022.
The LPS policy team’s update sets out clearly what to expect, with a summary of the consultation on the draft MCA Code of Practice which will be published alongside two easy read summary booklets on the Code. One booklet will cover the wider MCA guidance and the second will look at the specific aspects of the Code that relates to LPS. These easy read summary booklets are based on the chapter summaries in the full Code.
Alongside the consultation, the Department intends to publish six sets of draft regulations which will underpin LPS. When enacted, four of these sets of regulations would apply in England only. The remaining two sets of regulations would apply to both England and Wales. While there is no requirement to consult on the regulations, the Department has. decided to publish these with the consultation to seek views on the policy detail of each set of regulations from stakeholders.
In addition, a set of documents will be published to support the sector in implementing LPS from a training framework to a workforce and training strategy, for example. The consultation will also be supported by a number of engagement events to gather views.
Key LPS milestones
- Spring 2022: public consultation on LPS (16 weeks)
- Summer 2022: consideration of consultation responses
- Winter 2022/23: government response to the consultation published, with six months of pre-launch implementation to allow for training and sector readiness prior to launch of LPS
Do get in touch if you would like to discuss any of the issues raised here - and we look forward to being in touch once the consultation has been published.
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