A deputy is a person (or sometimes an organisation like a Local Authority) that has been given special powers by the Court of Protection under section 16 (2) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to make one or more specific decisions on behalf of a person over the age of 16 who lacks capacity to do so themselves at that time. Deputy’s are reviewed by the Court and revoked should the adult become capacitated and able to make their own decision in the future.
Deputy applications are usually made in relation to significant decisions, such as deciding where someone should live, whether medical treatment should go ahead or how someone with significant savings should manage this money. Other day to day decisions can be made by applying the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
There are 2 types of deputy:
Applications can be made to be just one type of deputy or both.