Dr. Caroline Dalton:

I am not sure it would necessarily help people to have the capacity but, if you are looking at allowing people to make decisions, they have to have a range of choices available to them. You certainly do not want to be bringing about a change in legislation that would increase the inequalities people already face because of an absence of services. Supporting people to make decisions is based on their ability to access support services. That must be considered when looking at any changes in legislation to ensure that any change does not exacerbate existing inequalities. We should fundamentally be moving to address those inequalities and to ensure people have access to those services because it impacts their overall ability to make choices.