  Radiative neutron capture is an important nuclear reaction whose accurate
description is needed for many applications ranging from nuclear technology to
nuclear astrophysics. The description of such a process relies on the
Hauser-Feshbach theory which requires the nuclear optical potential, level
density and $\gamma$-strength function as model inputs. It has recently been
suggested that the M1 scissors mode may explain discrepancies between
theoretical calculations and evaluated data. We explore statistical model
calculations with the strength of the M1 scissors mode estimated to be
dependent on the nuclear deformation of the compound system. We show that the
form of the M1 scissors mode improves the theoretical description of evaluated
data and the match to experiment in both the fission product and actinide
regions. Since the scissors mode occurs in the range of a few keV $\sim$ a few
MeV, it may also impact the neutron capture cross sections of neutron-rich
nuclei that participate in the rapid neutron capture process of
nucleosynthesis. We comment on the possible impact to nucleosynthesis by
evaluating neutron capture rates for neutron-rich nuclei with the M1 scissors
mode active.
