PETITIONOpenPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Raise the age when children take control of their own health care and treatments
Currently, people aged 16 or over are entitled to consent to their own treatment and can make decisions on treatments without parental involvement. This can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances. I would like this age raised to 18 or at least give parent and children joint control.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
40
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 40/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 40/100,000
Background
Like adults, young people (aged 16/17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there's significant evidence to suggest otherwise.
However, I believe that this could be too much pressure on the young person given the pressures that are already on them, including GCSEs & leaving school.
Young people that have additional medical issues may find it extremely difficult to take over control of prescriptions and appointments on top of these pressures