The Law relating to care services
The links provided below take you to either the Act/document or to a government website with further information and links. External websites will occasionally change their webpages and so links cease to function - please let us know if you find this happens.
Acts of Parliament
England- The Charities Act 2006
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (See also ISA's factsheets relating to this Act)
- The Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003
- The Care Standards Act 2000: There are several sets of Regulations for this Act - see the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) website for details.
- The Human Rights Act 1998
- The Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005
- The Mental Health Act 1983 and The Mental Health Act 2007
Northern Ireland
- Charity Law: the Northern Ireland Assembly currently has a Charities Bill under consideration (2008) - see details here.
- The Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
- The Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
- The Human Rights Act 1998
- The Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005
- The Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and The Mental Health (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004
Scotland
- The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007
- The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007
- The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act (2005)
- The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003
- The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002
- The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 There are several sets of Regulations and National Care Standards related to this Act - see The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (The Care Commission) website for details.
- The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
- The Human Rights Act 1998
- The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
- The Charities Act 2006
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (See also ISA's factsheets relating to this Act)
- The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003
- The Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The Care Standards Act 2000 There are several sets of Regulations and National Minimum Standards relating to this Act - see the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) website for details.
- The Human Rights Act 1998
- The Disablity Discrimination Act 1995
- The Mental Health Act 1983 and The Mental Health Act 2007
Recent Government Policy, Guidance Papers and Reports
England
- Care, support, independence: meeting the needs of a changing society (2008) Consultation document
- Independent Living Strategy (2008)
- Putting People First: a shared vision and commitment to the transformation of adult social care (2007)
- Valuing People Now: From Progress to Transformation (2007) Consultation document
- Services for People with learning disability and challenging behaviour or mental health needs (2007) Mansell report revised edition
- Good Practice Guidance on working with Parent with a Learning Disability (2007)
- Investigation into the service for people with learning disabilities provided by Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust (2007)
- Joint Investigation into the provision of services for people with learning disabilities at Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust (2006)
- Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community services (2005)
- Independence, Well-being and Choice - our vision for the social care for adults in England (2005)
- Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People (2005)
- Learning Disability Taskforce Reports (2004 - 2007)
- Government annual reports on learning disabilities: Making Change Happen (2003), Moving Forward Together (2004), Making Things Better (2005)
- Guidance for Restrictive Physical Interventions - how to provide safe services for people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder (2002)
- Building Capacity and Partnership in Care - an agreement between the statutory and independent social care, health care and housing sectors (2001)
- Valuing People: A new strategy for learning disability for the 21st Century (2001)
- No Secrets: guidance on developing and implementing multi-agency policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse (2000) Undergoing revision in 2008
- Once a day one or more people with learning disabilities are likely to be in contact with your primary healthcare team - how can you help them? (1999)
- Moving Into the Mainstream: report of a national inspection of services for adults with learning disabilities (1998)
- Signposts for Success in commissioning and providing health services for people with learning disabilities (1998) No electronic copies available - link is for a short summary
- Ordinary Residence - Local Authority Circular LAC(93)7 (1993)
This page last updated: 18 June 2008