Stands for
MCA — The legal process for determining whether an adult has the capacity to make a specific decision at a specific time.
How it works in KallosSim
- In practice language — The legal process for determining whether an adult has the capacity to make a specific decision at a specific time.
- What it means — The Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out a two-stage test. Stage 1 (diagnostic): does the person have an impairment of, or disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain? Stage 2 (functional): as a result, can the person understand the information relevant to the decision, retain it long enough to make the decision, weigh and use it in reaching a decision, and communicate their decision? Capacity is decision-specific and time-specific — a person may have capacity for some decisions but not others, or may have capacity at some times but not others. Executive capacity (organising day-to-day life) must not be confused with decisional capacity (making a specific formal decision). A professional must never make a capacity assessment for a decision they themselves are not involved in.
- In KallosSim — Cases and formative debriefs may reference this concept when your sector pack and card selections call for it.
Training only. Fictional AI-generated cases only — not legal advice, not live decision support, not a substitute for supervision.
What it is not
- A substitute for reading primary statute or your organisation’s procedures.
- Competence assessment, ASYE sign-off, or Bar / SRA / CIPD accreditation.
- Advice for a live family, employee, client, or court matter.