The government has been told to work faster towards protecting the rights of incapacitated people.

A joint parliamentary committee told ministers to speed up the progress of its draft Mental Incapacity Bill.

MPs and peers on a cross-party committee set up to scrutinise the bill said sufferers from problems such as dementia, autism and learning difficulties had already waited too long for the law to be cleared.

But the committee said more work was needed to make the legislation workable and fair. Chairman Lord Carter said the law was needed to provide respect and protection for existing and potential sufferers. "This bill is important and long overdue," he said.

"It's about respecting the rights of people who lack capacity ? some witnesses told us they were fed up with being bossed about and treated like second-class citizens.

"At the same time, it's about protecting the vulnerable. We've heard evidence that up to 20 per cent of financial transactions under the present Enduring Powers of Attorney are tainted by abuse."

The bill has come in for criticism from pro-life campaigners who have raised concern at clauses permitting advance decisions to refuse medical treatment.

However Lord Carter said that legal "voluntary euthanasia" would only clear up inconsistencies in existing legislation. "We know that many people have moral objections to this," he said. "But individuals already have the legal right to refuse treatment when they are capable of making decisions. Why shouldn't they have the same legal right to make their wishes known in case they become incapable?"