About the Act
- The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 29 March 2000 and received Royal Assent on 9 May 2000. The purpose of the Act is to provide for decisions to be made on behalf of adults who lack the legal capacity to do so themselves because of mental disorder or inability to communicate. The decisions may concern the adult's property or financial affairs or personal welfare, including medical treatment. Explanatory notes to the Act have been published.
Implementation timetable
The Act was implemented between April 2001 and October 2003 - see timetable.
Parliamentary process
The Scottish Executive introduced the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament in October 1999 together with a Policy Memorandum. The Bill was fully debated and the reports of the debates can be accessed through the Official Report on the Scottish Parliament Web site. A shortcut to these pages can be made by clicking on the appropriate dates below.
Stage 1 Debate, 9 December 1999, Stage 2 (Justice and Home Affairs Committee) 19 and 25 January; 1, 8 and 29 February; and 1 March and Stage 3 Debate, 29 March.
Policy statements and reports
- Prior to Introduction of the Bill the Scottish Executive published a policy statement entitled Making the Right Moves. The full statement and a short summary leaflet can be viewed by clicking on the appropriate title, as can two of the key background documents: the 1995 Report on Incapable Adults by the Scottish Law Commission, and the 1997 Scottish Office consultation paper Managing the Finances and Welfare of Incapable Adults.
- Making the right moves summary leaflet
- a short leaflet, giving an overview of the issues contained in the policy statement and setting out its recommendations clearly and simply. The policy statement - here you can read the whole text of Making the Right Moves. This was the detailed statement of the Scottish Executive's plans. It set out what alternative approaches had been considered, and the outcome of consultation about these. Scottish Law Commission Report on Incapable Adults - this was published in 1995 and includes the recommendations for reform of the existing law and a draft bill.
National Implementation Steering Group
The National Implementation Steering Group was set up to assist the Scottish Executive in taking forward the implementation of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
More information
If you have any queries or questions please email: adultsincapacity@scotland.gov.uk or phone 0131 244 2193.