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Understanding mental capacity
Understanding mental capacity

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2 Children, young people and decisions

You will now look in more detail at the different kinds of decisions that come up when working or engaging with children and young people.

Generally, Gillick competency is relevant when considering issues related to contraception and medical treatment for children under 16. However, the 16th birthday is an important legal threshold for children in matters of capacity, so in this section, pre-16 and post-16 issues are considered separately.