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Relevant information by decision
Whats on this page
Relevant information is one of the most important ideas in mental capacity law, but it is also one of the areas where poor assessments most often go wrong. Relevant information by decision is designed to show why the information changes from one decision to another and why getting that information right is the foundation of the whole functional assessment.
Why relevant information changes by decision
Relevant information is decision-specific. What matters for treatment, property, litigation, care, contact or Will-making will not be identical, because the choices and foreseeable consequences are different.
Why generic lists are not enough
Generic lists can be a useful starting point, but they cannot replace thinking about the actual decision in the actual circumstances. Good assessments tailor the relevant information rather than repeating the same wording across every case.
Property and financial decisions
Property and financial decisions often require the person to understand the nature of the transaction, the choices available, the likely financial consequences and the practical effect of going ahead or refusing.
Health and welfare decisions
Health and welfare decisions often require attention to care options, support arrangements, risks, practical consequences and the way the person’s daily life is likely to be affected by each option.
Court and legal decisions
Litigation, COP3, discharge, LPA and other legal decisions often require especially careful decision framing because the legal process itself may shape what information the person must be able to deal with.
Relationship and personal decisions
Marriage, sexual relations, contact and related personal decisions raise their own categories of relevant information. These usually concern the nature of the relationship decision, the rights involved and the key foreseeable consequences.
How practitioners should use cross-decision guidance
Cross-decision guidance is most useful as a decision-framing tool. It helps avoid reinventing the wheel while still leaving room for the assessment to be tailored to the person’s real situation.
Common mistakes across categories
The most common mistake is failing to agree the relevant information clearly before the assessment starts. That tends to create unnecessary difficulty, disagreement and weak reasoning later on.
What a strong report should do
A strong report should show that the relevant information was chosen because it matched the decision in issue, not because it happened to be a familiar script. That makes the report more lawful and more persuasive.
Frequently asked questions
Is relevant information the same in every kind of case?
No. It changes depending on the nature of the decision and the person’s circumstances.
Why is this such a common problem in practice?
Because people often start assessing before agreeing what information actually matters for the decision.
Can cross-decision guidance replace judgment?
No. It is a strong starting point, but it still has to be tailored to the person’s real situation.
Related pages and services
These related pages connect this guide to the wider shared authority guides pathway.
Need to connect this authority page to a decision-specific issue?
Use the related pages below to move from the legal or procedural framework into the decision-specific guides and assessment pathways that apply it in practice.