Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria is used to assess people with (a) substance or (b) alcohol addiction when they undergo a Mental Capacity Assessment.

The Mental Capacity Assessment requires a two-stage test of capacity.

Stage 1. Is there an impairment of, or disturbance in the functioning of a person's mind or brain? This could be due to long-term conditions such as mental illness, dementia, or more temporary states such as confusion, unconsciousness, or the effects of drugs or alcohol and

Stage 2. Is the impairment or disturbance sufficient that the person lacks the capacity to make a particular decision?

The Mental Capacity Act says that a person is unable to make their own decision if they cannot do one or more of the following four things:

• Understand information given to them;
• Retain that information long enough to be able to make the decision;
• Weigh up the information available to make the decision;
• Communicate their decision – this could be by talking, using sign language or even simple muscle movements such as blinking an eye or squeezing a hand.