Best
Interests
The research involved interviewing individuals with a learning
disability who have experienced Best Interests processes and
surveying professionals about their experiences of these
processes.
For those using and working in learning disability services, the
traditional approach has been that the decision should be
made in the individual's Best Interests. However, now with the
implementation of the MCA (NI) 2016, Best Interests is
enshrined in legislation and must be applied to any proposed
Deprivation of Liberty before the act can lawfully proceed.
Although the MCA (NI) 2016 is indicative of a substitutedecision making regime, with the inclusion of the support
principle suggests that it is being underpinned by a supporteddecision making model. The MCA (NI) 2016 Code
of Practice
suggests that "Proper and full consideration of best interests
guarantees that the individual's rights, will and preferences are
respected in line with obligations set out under The UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities".