The Petition of Miss Enid L. Gibson, living in England a woman of 94 years of age who worked as a midwife and every branch of nursing,
Declares that her bank accounts have been frozen and money taken by Redbridge London Borough and she is not being allowed to publicly complain. Furthermore she has not been allowed to address the court and local authority are trying to stop her visiting Parliament.
The Petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons Justice Committee and the Government change the law to stop this happening.
And the Petitioner remains, etc.—[Presented by John Hemming, Official Report, 19 March 2014; Vol. 577, c. 5P .]
[P001335]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Justice, received 22 August 2014:
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 empowers individuals to make their own decisions or to maximise their participation in any decision-making process. The underlying philosophy of the Act is to make sure that any decision made or action taken on behalf of someone who lacks capacity to act for themselves is made in their best interests. But the Act also aims to balance an individual’s right to make a decision for themselves with their right to be protected from harm if they lack capacity to make a decision to protect themselves.
The Government cannot comment on the individual circumstances of the Petitioner’s case, the questions raised and the actions taken by the Local Authority which have been subject to court proceedings and where judgments have been delivered. These decisions are for independent judges to make, on the basis of the facts in each particular case.
The Government endorse the position that parties should be able to assert their rights to the full extent of their capacity, whether in public or by engaging with elected representatives, subject always to any directions of the courts. Furthermore, if a party does in fact lack capacity to make certain decisions, it is important that they are able to continue asserting their rights through the courts (or indeed defending their position) and do not lose that opportunity through the lack of capacity.