Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of communication in assessments of mental capacity, particularly when the speech and language centre of the brain has been affected; and whether they intend to make speech and language therapists eligible for training to become Approved Mental Capacity Professionals in forthcoming regulations.

Speech and language therapists would be expected to have an important role in Liberty Protection Safeguards. This role will include supporting individuals with communication needs to communicate clearly, make objections and to ascertain their wishes and feelings. We intend to work with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists ahead of implementation to establish the detail of the role they will play in the new system.