Law and policy

Students on placement in this area will need to be familiar with the following legislation. In addition, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNRC) and equalities legislation must also be considered.  Similarly, you may need to refer also to legislation dealing with vulnerable adults, and /or child care depending on your specific service user group. For example, unaccompanied asylum seeking children are likely to be accommodated under Section (S.) 20 of the Children Act 1989 and provided with services as children in need. 

Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• The Act establishes the basis for provision of support to asylum seekers, now the responsibility of UKVI
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004

• Makes it an offence to enter the UK without a passport or other immigration document which establishes a person's identity or nationality
• Introduces a specific offence of trafficking people for the purposes of exploitation, including forced labour 
• Permits support to be withdrawn from families whose claim for asylum has failed
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Borders, Citizenship & Immigration Act 2009

• Requires immigration authorities to have regard to the welfare of children and to safeguard and promote their welfare
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2009

• Part 10 of this Act Gives permits the Home Secretary to deny leave to enter or remain to certain foreign nationals whose removal from the United Kingdom would otherwise be incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) 
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Immigration Act 2014

• An Act which seeks to end the detention of young people facing deportation and prevents the removal of children and their parents until all processes of appeal have been exhausted
• The Act also strengthens the provision for dealing with suspected sham marriages
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Nationality and Border Act 2022

• Creates a statutory test to determine likelihood of well-founded fear, a term within the definition of 'refugee'
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Children Act 1989

• Provides local authorities the legislative basis for child proceedings (including children in need, care proceedings and child protection)
• Includes the following fundamental principles:
  • the child's welfare must be paramount – a checklist sets out factors to ensure decisions made reflect this requirement including that social workers and the court must take into account a child's wishes and feelings
  • Partnership – a social worker must involve parents and families in decisions
  • Non-intervention – court orders should only be made where necessary 
  • Delays in processes are presumed to be prejudicial to the child and should be avoided 
• Includes private law provisions determining arrangements for children in a range of circumstances especially when parents separate: the Child Arrangements Order (with residence and contact elements); specific issue and prohibited steps orders (S.8) and special guardianship orders (S.14A)
• If a concern arises in private law proceedings, the local authority can be directed to investigate whether a care or supervision order may be required (S.37)
• Where a person has care of a child but doesn’t have parental responsibility e.g. a teacher or childminder, they may do whatever is reasonable in the circumstances to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare
   
• Sections of the Act give local authorities duties to support children and families such as:
  • S.17 – to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need
  • S.20 – to provide accommodation for some ‘children in need’ on a voluntary basis
  • S.22 – the local authority must safeguard and promote the welfare of all the children it accommodates and all the children under a care order, collectively referred to as looked after children
  • S.25 – sometimes children will be placed in secure accommodation for the purpose of securing their liberty
  • S.26 – regular reviews will be held of a looked after child’s circumstances by an Independent Reviewing Office
• It is the primary legislation for child protection, including key provisions:
  • S.47 – to investigate when the local authority is informed that a child ‘is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, attributable to an absence of reasonable care or the child being beyond parental control’  – often referred to as the threshold criteria
  • S.31(9) – harm means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development; including impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another
  • S.43 – child assessment orders – to authorise assessment of a child to see if the child is suffering / likely to suffer significant harm 
  • S.44 – emergency protections orders – authorises short term removal / retention of the child in an emergency including where access to the child is being denied 
  • S.46 – police protection orders – authorise the police to remove a child into their protection for up to 72 hours 
  • S.31 – provides the threshold for care and supervision orders where significant harm (or its likelihood) is established
  • The effect of a care order is to give parental responsibility to the local authority and authorise removal of the child
  • S.38 – interim care orders – to protect the child in the period until the final court hearing
  • S.38, 44 – exclusion order – an alleged abuser may be excluded from the child's home alongside an EPO or interim care order
  • The Court must consider a Care plan for the child before making an order which will include long term plans for the child
  • S.34 – a child in care should have reasonable contact with her parents 
  • The threshold criteria must be satisfied for a supervision order to be made. Unlike a care order, the local authority does not acquire PR and the child usually remains at home. The order lasts 1 – 3 years. 
  • S.41 – a children’s guardian (an officer of CAFCASS) will be appointed to safeguard the interests of the child in care proceedings and will prepare an independent case analysis
• This was the first legislation to place disabled children alongside their mainstream peers, acknowledging that they are children first
• Schedule 2 outlines the statutory duty in relation to access to opportunities to enable disabled children to reach full potential
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Children Act 2004

• Established the role of the Children’s Commissioner for England 
• Changed the structure within which services for children are delivered in England and Wales
• Places a duty on Local Authorities to promote cooperation between various agencies to improve the well-being of all children and young people
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Children and Families Act 2014

• Places a duty on education, health and social care to work together for children with special educational needs
• Amends the welfare principle adding a presumption that parental involvement in a child’s life will be beneficial 
• Further outlines how a disabled child is assessed, and the requirements of local authorities to provide support services to them and their families
• Aims to reduce delays in adoption
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Children and Social Work Act 2017 

• Aims to improve decision making, and support for looked after and previously looked after children in England and Wales
• Aims to improve joint work at the local level to safeguard children and enabling better learning at the local and national levels to improve practice in child protection
• Requires local authorities to set out their safeguarding arrangements as one of the three key safeguarding partners with Integrated Care Boards and the Police
• Promotes the safeguarding of children by providing for Relationships and Sex Education in schools
• Enables the establishment of a new regulatory regime specifically for the social work profession in England
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Serious Crime Act 2015: Part 5 Protection of children 

• Places a duty on social workers, teachers and healthcare professionals to report to the police known cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) involving victims aged under 18
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000

• The Act’s main purpose is to help young people who have been looked after by a local authority move from care into living independently
• Establishes the categories of children and young people who might be provided with after care services
• Amends the Children Act 1989 (c.41) and places a duty on local authorities to assess and meet need
• Local authorities must keep in touch with care leavers until they reach the age of 25
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Adoption and Children Act 2002

• Contains the law on adoption including principles similar to those in the Children Act 1989 – welfare is paramount, a checklist, avoidance of delay and non-intervention. 
• Applications for adoption of a child under 18 can be made by a couple or a single person (including a step-parent)
• A child will be placed for adoption either with parental consent or by placement order for a minimum of 10 weeks before the adoption application can be made
• On adoption, the adoptive parents obtain parental responsibility and PR held be any other person is extinguished
• The court must consider arrangements for ongoing contact with birth family when it makes the placement or adoption order 
• Part 2 of this Act amends aspects of the Children Act 1989 in respect of 
  • Parental responsibility of unmarried fathers
  •  Acquisition of parental responsibility by step-parents
  • Introduction of Special Guardianship Orders
  • Clarifies the definition of harm in the Children Act 1989 to make clear that the harm a child may be at risk of suffering includes any impairment of the child’s health or development as a result of witnessing the ill-treatment of another person, such as domestic violence
    
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004

• Includes the offences of causing or allowing the death or serious harm of a child or vulnerable adults
• A range of other specific offences against children, including sexual offences are set out in the criminal law
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Family Law Act, 1996

• Injunctions (non-molestation and occupation) to prevent abuse may be applied for within this Act in respect of domestic violence by an associated person
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Children and Young Persons Act 2008

• This Act provides for substantial amendment to Part III of the Children Act 1989
• Requires local authorities to take steps to secure sufficient accommodation in their area that is appropriate for the needs of children they look after
• Amends the duties of local authorities in relation to the appointment of independent reviewing officers (IROs); adds to the functions of IROs; and provides powers for the appropriate national authority to establish a new national IRO service independent of local authorities in England and Wales respectively
• Places a new duty on local authorities to appoint a representative to visit all looked after children, wherever they are living and provides a power to extend the duty to other groups of children who were looked after but have ceased to be so
• Extends the duty on local authorities to appoint an independent person to visit, befriend and advise any looked after child if doing so is in the child’s interests;
• Places a duty on registrars of births and deaths to notify Local Safeguarding Children Boards of the particulars of the death of a child and gives the Registrar General power to supply information about the deceased child to the appropriate national authority for research purposes
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Borders, Citizenship & Immigration Act 2009

• Requires immigration authorities to have regard to the welfare of children and to safeguard and promote their welfare
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970

• Local authorities have a duty to consider the needs of disabled children for services
• Provides for the transition of children to adult care and support services (Care Act 2014)
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

• This legislation includes provisions applicable in Wales relating to looked after and accommodated children leaving care and assessment of the needs of children for care and support
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Domestic Abuse Act 2021

• S.3 recognises that children who see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse are themselves victims 
• Local authorities must provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children with safe accommodation 
• The definition of domestic abuse includes physical or sexual abuse, violent behaviour, coercive and controlling behaviour, economic, psychological and emotional abuse
• New orders, Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders will be introduced
• Until the legislation is fully implemented, remedies for domestic abuse are provided by the Family Law Act 1997
• A new role of Domestic Abuse Commissioner is established
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 
   

Key Policy documents and guidance relevant to working with Children and Families

Court Orders and Pre-proceedings for Local Authorities April 2014 

• This mandatory guidance outlines the key principles of the Children Act 1989 and explains the changes to some of the court-related sections of the Act following provisions in the Children and Families Act 2014 
• For more information, please click here.

Public Law Outline

• Statutory guidance issued by the Ministry of Justice (2014) designed to minimise delays in care proceedings.  
• Provides for pre-proceedings measures, linked to the Children and Families Act 2014
• Proceedings should normally be issued once necessary amendments have been conducted
• The court process should conclude within 26 weeks
• To read the directions in full, please click here.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC)

• The United Kingdom government is a signatory to this Convention
• Whilst the convention is not incorporated into UK law Directors of Children’s Services (in England) must have regard to the UNCRC in carrying out their functions
• Article 12 of the Convention states that children capable of forming their own views should have the right to express them freely in matters affecting them
• For more information, please click here.

Working Together 2023

• Important statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• Incorporates key elements of the Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their families (2000)
• Early help which may precede support for children in need
• For more information, please click here.

Students on placement in agencies whose primary function is dealing with domestic abuse will need to be familiar with the following legislation. You may also need to refer to children and families legislation as well as that for vulnerable adults depending on the nature and needs of the service user group.

Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004

• An Act which aims to reform both civil and criminal law in relation to domestic oppression
• Makes the breach of a non-molestation order (under the Family Law Act 1996) a criminal offence
• Extends the availability of restraining orders under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997
• Extends protection to people not living together but where a significant intimate relationship has taken place
• Extends protection to same sex couples
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Family Law Act 1996

• Provides for Non-molestation Orders and Occupation Orders
• To read the legislation in full, please click.

Domestic Abuse Act 2021

• S.3 recognises that children who see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse are themselves victims 
• Local authorities must provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children with safe accommodation 
• The definition of domestic abuse includes physical or sexual abuse, violent behaviour, coercive and controlling behaviour, economic, psychological and emotional abuse
• New orders, Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders will be introduced. Until the legislation is fully implemented, remedies for domestic abuse are provided by the Family Law Act 1997
• A new role of Domestic Abuse Commissioner is established
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Students on placement in agencies dealing with drug and alcohol misuse will normally need to be familiar with legislation dealing with vulnerable adults and/ or mental health, depending on the focus of the particular agency and the nature and needs of the service user group. In addition it may be useful to be aware of the following.

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

• Under this Act illegal drugs are placed into one of 3 classes – A, B or C. These classifications are largely based on the harm they cause either to the user, or to society, when they are misused
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Students on placement in organisations working with adults with learning disabilities will need to be familiar with the following legislation. 

Care Act 2014

• This Act is the outcome of a wholesale review of adult social care legislation by the Law Commission (2011). The Act repealed all or parts of previous legislation, consolidating many aspects of adult social care legislation into a single Act
• It is accompanied by detailed guidance, the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (2018)
• The Care Act introduces new responsibilities for local authorities. It also has major implications for adult care and support providers, people who use services, carers and advocates
• The Act introduced a new concept, the ‘well-being principle’, intended to provide an holistic view of people in need of services
• Under the Care Act, local authorities take on functions to make sure that people who live in their areas:
  • receive services that prevent their care needs from becoming more serious, or delay the impact of their needs
  • can get the information and advice they need to make good decisions about care and support
  • have a range of providers offering a choice of high quality, appropriate services
• Key features of the Act include
  • Self-assessment
  • Social workers as advocates & brokers
  • Personal budgets, including increased use of direct payments
  • Individual budgets 
  • Early intervention
  • Revised eligibility criteria, introducing a national set of criteria, establishing a threshold above which care & support needs must be met
  • Individual care and support plans
  • A right to independent advocacy in some circumstances
  • Carer assessments
  • Duty on the local authority to take a person-centred view in exercising its functions including, for example, the importance of beginning with the assumption that the individual is best-placed to judge the individual's own well-being (S.1(3)(a))
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970

• Local authorities have a duty to consider the needs of disabled people for services
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Mental Capacity Act 2005

• The whole act is underpinned by a set of five key principles set out in S.1 of the Act
  • A presumption of capacity – every adult has the right to make his or her own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise
  • Individuals being supported to make their own decisions – a person must be given all practical help before anyone treats them as not being able to make their own decisions
  • Unwise decisions – just because an individual makes what might be seen as an unwise decision, they should not be treated as lacking capacity to make that decision 
  • Best Interests – an act done or decision made under the Act for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done in their best interests; 
  • Least restrictive option -  anything done for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity should be the least restrictive of their basic rights and freedom
• Places the assessment of persons who are mentally incapacitated on to a statutory basis with a test of capacity in S.2
• If a person is assessed as not having capacity, the Act gives power for decisions to be made for and on behalf of that person by carers or professionals, including social workers
• Makes a criminal offence of ill treatment or wilful neglect of a person who lacks capacity
• Lasting power of attorney appoints a person to deal with finances, health and welfare decisions if a person loses mental capacity to make decisions in those areas of their life
• The Court of Protection deals with issues relating to mental capacity. It can appoint deputies to make decisions for a person lacking capacity to do so and can take independent advice from a Court of Protection Visitor
• The Act also established an Independent Advocacy Service to provide independent mental capacity advocates (IMCAs)
• Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards were introduced as an amendment to the Act and allow for restraint and restrictions on liberty in certain situations and only if the proposed actions are in the person's best interests
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Key Policy documents and guidance relevant to working with people with Learning Disabilities

MCA Code of Practice

• To access the Code in full, please click here.

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

• These are an amendment to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and allow for restraint and restrictions on liberty in certain situations and only if the proposed actions are in the person’s best interests
• These safeguards are currently under review by the Government in the form of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill, introduced in July 2018. The reforms seek to:
  • introduce a simpler process that involves families more and gives swifter access to assessments
  • be less burdensome on people, carers, families and local authorities
  • allow the NHS, rather than local authorities, to make decisions about their patients, allowing a more efficient and clearly accountable process
  • consider restrictions of people’s liberties as part of their overall care package
  • get rid of repeat assessments and authorisations when someone moves between a care home, hospital and ambulance as part of their treatment
• To read more about the progress of this Bill click here.

Making Safeguarding Personal

• To access the guide in full, please click here. 

Mental Capacity Act: A brief guide for providers of Shared Lives and other community services 

• To access the guide in full, please click here. 

United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities 

• An international convention to which the UK is a signatory
• The purpose of the convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities
• To access the convention in full, please click here.

Winterbourne View Safeguarding Adults Report

• The report of the Safeguarding Adults Review into the abuse of adults with learning disabilities and autism in South Gloucestershire 
• To access the report in full, please click here. 

Mental Health Act 1983

• The main purpose of this Act is to allow compulsory action to ensure people receive care and/or treatment for their own health and safety or to ensure the protection of others
• Patient is the term used in the Act for ‘a person suffering or appearing to suffer from mental disorder’ and ‘mental disorder’ means ‘any disorder or disability of the mind’. 
• Sets out criteria that must be met for compulsory action, along with safeguards for patients
• Many patients are in hospital on an informal basis
• •    Detention (Part 2 of the Act) usually requires a formal application by either an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) or the patient's nearest relative (as defined by the Act). The application is founded on recommendations from two qualified medical practitioners, one of whom must be approved for the purpose under the Act. The patient’s Nearest Relative must be consulted before an application for treatment or guardianship  can be made and has the right to discharge the patient.
• It includes powers to detain persons in hospital under sections of the Act (commonly referred to as 'sectioning')
  • S.2 – for up to 28 days for assessment
  • S.3 – for up to six months for treatment
  • S.4 – admission for assessment in cases of emergency
  • S.5 – Allows for in-patients to be detained for either 6 or 72 hours to prevent them leaving hospital when a full assessment is necessary
• Patients have the right to an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA)
• Different procedures apply in the case of short term orders in emergencies
  • S.115 permits an approved mental health professional to enter premises where a patient is living if he has reason to believe the patient is not receiving proper care
  • S.135 allows a police officer (with warrant) to remove a patient who is being ill treated or neglected, to a place of safety
  • S.136 allows a police officer to remove a person suffering from mental disorder from a public place to a place of safety
• S.7 Guardianship provides some control and support of patients in the community 
• A Mental Health Review Tribunal exists to review detentions and decide whether patients should remain subject to compulsory powers
• S.117 requires Health and Social Services to provide after care services where a person is discharged from guardianship or admission for treatment 
• The Act is accompanied by a Code of Practice (2015) and a Reference Guide.
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Mental Health Act 2007

• The Act made some amendments of relevance for social workers:
  • Replacing an approved social worker (ASW), who could recommend compulsory admission to hospital jointly with doctors, with an approved mental health professional (AMHP) that might include nurses, psychologists and occupational therapists, as well as social workers
  • Replacing the responsible medical officer (RMO) who could make a decision about a patient continuing to be compulsory admitted, with a responsible clinician (RC) that might include other professionals, including social workers, as well as doctors
  • Introducing a new community treatment order (CTO) enabling a patient, detained under a section of the 1983 Act, to be released into the community for continuing treatment under supervision. A CTO can be made for supervised community treatment with a power to recall the patient and, under limited circumstances, treat the patient without their consent

• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010

• This Welsh law aims to:
  • Provide services at an earlier stage to reduce the risk of further decline in mental health
  • Make provision for care and treatment plans for those in secondary mental health care 
  • Ensure that people discharged from secondary mental health services have access to those services when they believe their mental health may be deteriorating
  • Extend mental health advocacy provision
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Key Policy documents and guidance relevant to working in mental health services

Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice 

• To access the code of Practice in full, please click here.

The Mental Health Act Reference guide (2015)

• This guide should be read in conjunction with the Code of Practice
• To access the reference guide in full, please click here.

The Care Programme Approach

The Care Programme Approach is a package of care for people with complex mental health needs requiring a multi-agency approach

• This approach introduced the inter-agency planning of care packages designed to meet a range of social, emotional, physical and psychological needs
• Provides the service user with a named care coordinator responsible for overseeing the involvement of other agencies in the service user’s care
• Click here to read the NHS summary of the Care Programme Approach. 

Social workers working with all adult client groups should have an awareness of safeguarding responsibilities but increasingly there are specialist safeguarding teams in the statutory and voluntary sector.  The Care Act 2014 introduced statutory duties in safeguarding for the first time.

The Care Act 2014

• S.42 is the statutory duty. If a local authority has reasonable cause to suspect and adult with care and support needs is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect and is unable to protect himself, it must make enquiries to decide whether and what action should be taken
• In England there are no other specific powers e.g. to remove an adult from a place of risk
• S.43 requires each local authority to establish a Safeguarding Adults Board, a key function of which is to arrange Safeguarding Adults Reviews where an adult has died from, or experienced serious abuse or neglect
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

• An Act to promote the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults
• Established a system for establishing the suitability of people applying to work with children and vulnerable adults
• This is now covered under the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) which holds separate lists of people barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.
• Requires organisations to check the background of those people they wish to employ in regulated activities (includes paid workers and volunteers)
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Safeguarding Adults: A National Framework of Standards for good practice and outcomes in adult protection work

• The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) have produced this useful guide to good practice standards
• To access the publication, please click here.

Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

• Establishes a National Independent Safeguarding Board for Wales
• Introduces a new order, available in Wales to protect adults at risk, the Adult protection and support order.
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Students working with adults in need of care and support may find themselves in a wide range of both statutory, private, voluntary or independent organisations. Regardless of setting, it is important to understand the provisions of the following legislation to ensure lawful practice and the protection and promotion of the rights of adults in need of care and protection.

Care Act 2014

• This Act is the outcome of a wholesale review of adult social care legislation by the Law Commission (2011). The Act repealed all or parts of previous legislation, consolidating many aspects of adult social care legislation into a single Act
• It is accompanied by detailed guidance, the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (2018)
• The Care Act introduces new responsibilities for local authorities. It also has major implications for adult care and support providers, people who use services, carers and advocates
• The Act introduced a new concept, the ‘well-being principle’, intended to provide an holistic view of people in need of services
• Under the Care Act, local authorities take on functions to make sure that people who live in their areas:
  • Rceive services that prevent their care needs from becoming more serious, or delay the impact of their needs
  • Can get the information and advice they need to make good decisions about care and support
  • Have a range of providers offering a choice of high quality, appropriate services.
• Key features of the Act include
  • Self-assessment
  • Social workers as advocates & brokers
  • Personal budgets, including increased use of direct payments
  • Individual budgets 
  • Early intervention
  • Revised eligibility criteria, introducing a national set of criteria, establishing a threshold above which care & support needs must be met
  • Individual care and support plans
  • A right to independent advocacy in some circumstances 
  • Carer assessments
  • Duty on the local authority to cooperate with external partners e.g. Integrated Care Boards, and internal departments e.g. children’s services
  • Principles to ensure the local authority takes a person-centred view in exercising its functions including e.g. the importance of beginning with the assumption that the individual is best-placed to judge the individual’s well-being (S.1(3)(a))
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Health and Social Care Act 2008

• Established the Care Quality commission (CQC) whose purpose is to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of people who use health and social care services
• Introduced the requirement for the registration of all regulated services, including registered managers
• The CQC is the independent regulator for 
  • Healthcare
  • Adult Social Care, including care and support services
  • Community Mental Health
  • Learning Disability
  • GPs
  • Care homes
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Mental Capacity Act 2005

• The whole Act is underpinned by a set of five key principles set out in section 1 of the Act 
  • A presumption of capacity – every adult has the right to make his or her own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise
  • Individuals being supported to make their own decisions – a person must be given all practical help before anyone treats them as not being able to make their own decisions
  • Unwise decisions – just because an individual makes what might be seen as an unwise decision, they should not be treated as lacking capacity to make that decision 
  • Best Interests – an act done or decision made under the Act for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done in their best interests;
  • Least restrictive option -  anything done for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity should be the least restrictive of their basic rights and freedom
• Places the assessment of persons who are mentally incapacitated on to a statutory basis with a test of capacity in S.2
• If a person is assessed as not having capacity to make a particular decision, the Act gives power for decisions to be made for and on behalf of that person by carers or professionals, including social workers
• Makes a criminal offence of ill treatment or wilful neglect of a person who lacks capacity
• Lasting power of attorney appoints a person to deal with finances, health and welfare decisions if a person loses mental capacity to make decisions in those areas of their life
• Advance decisions to refuse treatment may be made under the Act 
• The Court of Protection deals with issues relating to mental capacity. It can appoint deputies to make decisions for a person lacking capacity to do so and can take independent advice from a Court of Protection Visitor. 
• The Act also established an Independent Advocacy Service to provide independent mental capacity advocates (IMCAs) 
• Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards were introduced as an amendment to the Act and allow for restraint and restrictions on liberty in certain situations and only if the proposed actions are in the person’s best interests
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

• This legislation includes provisions applicable in Wales including:
  • A duty to promote well-being of people who need care and support, and carers who need their support
  • A duty to conduct assessments and meet the needs for adults for carers and support, and their carers' needs.
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Key Policy documents and guidance relevant to working with adults in need of care and support

Care and Support Statutory Guidance

To read the guidance in full please click here.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities 

• An international convention to which the UK is a signatory
• The purpose of the convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities
• To access the convention in full please click here.

Students working with young offenders on placement are likely to be based in multi-agency Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), or in non-statutory preventative services.  There is a plethora of legislation relevant to working with young offenders, the key pieces of legislation here have been selected because they made significant changes to the ways in which young people who offend are viewed and may be dealt with. 

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

• An Act which established a National Youth Justice Board and introduced the requirement for multi-agency Youth Offending Teams to deal with young people who offend
• Effectively reduces the age of criminal responsibility in England to 10 years, removing the requirement to consider the level of understanding of a child aged between 10 and 14 years (rebuttal of doli incapax)
• Makes provision for young people under 10 years to be dealt with for ‘criminal behaviour’
• The Youth Justice provisions in the Act focus on the following objectives and principles:
  • a clear strategy for preventing offending and re-offending by children and young people
  • early intervention with children and young people to stop them being drawn into crime
  • children young people and their parents accepting responsibility for their actions
  • reducing the delay in the youth justice process
• Introduced new civil and criminal measures to deal with youth offending
  • reprimands and final warnings 
  • reparation orders (requires the offender to make reparation to the victim or the community)
  • anti-social behaviour orders (civil, or criminal if applied for on conviction). These have now been repealed
  • parenting order 
  • detention and training order
  • child safety order (Family Proceedings Court)
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Criminal Justice Act 2003 

• Imposes a duty to cooperate on responsible authorities, such as police, probation and prison services, together with agencies such as housing, education, social services and youth offending teams
• Places a duty on courts to increase sentences for offences found to be caused by hostility based on a victim's disability
• Made some changes to the provision of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 including the introduction of drug testing for young people under the age of 18
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

• Introduced the Youth Rehabilitation Order replacing most other youth orders, including supervision
• The order can only be made where the court considers that the offending is ‘serious enough’ to warrant such an order
• The order consists of a menu of 18 different requirements – including supervision, unpaid work, curfew, residence, local authority residence, activity, programme, drug treatment etc.
• Requirements include 2 alternatives to custody – intensive supervision and surveillance and intensive fostering. In practice, most orders made are based around a supervision requirement – though curfews increasingly popular 
• Also introduced (for young people) a Youth Conditional Caution and extended the circumstances in which a Court can make a referral order 
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

• Introduced Referral Orders based on the principles of restorative justice (later consolidated in the Powers of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, S.16 – 20) 
• Referral orders were initially introduced as a compulsory sentence for children and young people aged 10-17 who plead guilty and are convicted by a court for the first time (unless the offence is so serious that custody is necessary)
• Now amended by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 to permit a referral order to be made when a young person pleads guilty and has not been sentenced to a referral order for an earlier first offence
• Special measures are available to witnesses on the grounds of youth, incapacity, or feelings of distress a witness is likely to suffer in giving evidence.
• Special measures include: screening the witness from the accused; giving evidence via a live link or in private, removal of wigs and gowns. video recording of evidence and cross-examination, use of an intermediary  and provision of aids to communication.
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

• Makes provision for how young people and vulnerable adults should be dealt with by Police when under arrest and detained for questioning
• Introduces the role of the ‘appropriate adult’ to safeguard the rights and well-being of a vulnerable person detained by the Police for questioning
• According to the Act, a ‘vulnerable person’ may be
  • A juvenile (under 18)
  • Mentally ill
  • Mentally vulnerable 
• PACE 1984, S.1.7 says that the appropriate adult means –
  • a) in the case of a juvenile
    • i. his parent or guardian (or, if he is in care, the care authority)
    • ii. a social worker or member of a youth offending team
    • iii. another responsible adult (aged over 18 years and not a police officer or employed by the police)
  • b) in the case of a person who is mentally disordered or mentally vulnerable –  
    • i. a relative, guardian or other person responsible for his care or custody.
    • ii. someone who has experience of dealing with mentally disordered or mentally vulnerable people,  but not a police officer or employed by the police (such as an AMHP as defined by MHA 2007)
    • iii. failing either of the above, another responsible adult (aged over 18 years and not a police officer or employed by the police)
• The Act is supported by a Code of Practice which sets out the requirements for dealing with the detention, treatment and questioning of vulnerable people, including young offenders
• To access the Code in full, please click here
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

• Introduces injunctions and Criminal Behaviour Orders in place of anti-social behaviour orders
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

• S. 157(2) provides a statutory duty requiring the court to consider the welfare of the child when deciding whether to remand a child into custody
• To read this section of legislation, please click here.

Key policy documents and guidance relevant to youth offending

Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing victims and witnesses and guidance on using special measures

• Revised in 2022, this guidance aims to assist those responsible for interviewing vulnerable witnesses during the criminal justice process, as well as those preparing and supporting witnesses
• To read the guidance, please click here.

The principles that underpin what we call ‘administrative law’ have evolved over many years. The aim of administrative law is to try to ensure that the balance of power between the state and individuals is proportionate when those acting on behalf of the state (in this case social workers) have powers which might conflict with or otherwise impact on service users’ rights. Key to good decision making in social work practice is therefore dependent on the following principles

• Openness
• Fairness
• Rationality
• Impartiality
• Accountability
• Consistency
• Participation
• Efficiency
• Equity

In addition, concepts such as natural justice, and the rule of law should inform sound professional practice. The principle of natural justice means that whatever the law is, all citizens are entitled to have it applied fairly (i.e. no discrimination in the application of the law). The rule of law means that no matter how much an individual may dislike a law they must obey it and conversely that no one can be punished for something that was not proscribed by law at the time. 

Decision making may be challenged in a number of ways. Service users have recourse to local authority complaints procedures and may also raise concerns with the Local Government Ombudsman. Beyond that a complaint may be made to the High Court for judicial review of a decision. This is costly but the caselaw decisions derived from judicial reviews case are influential in practice. The court will review the lawfulness of a decision on the grounds of illegality, procedural impropriety or irrationality. It won’t substitute its own decision. 

In addition to these principles, derived from common law, the following legislation underpins and reinforces the principles of administrative law and therefore sound professional practice.

Local Authority Social Services Act 1970

• An Act to make provision for the organisation, management and administration of local authority social services
• Provides for the Secretary of State to produce directions for Social Services functions (formal policy guidance)
• Establishes complaints procedures
• Contains a list (in Schedule 1) of the permitted functions of the Social Services Authority (subsequently contained in more recent Orders issued under this Act)
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Care Standards Act 2000

• Introduced ‘Protection of title’ and made it a criminal offence to use the term Social Worker if one is not a registered professional
• To establish the position of a Children’s Commissioner for Wales
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Your placement agency is likely to have its own policies and procedures in place for dealing with equalities and concerns about discrimination. These will be derived from and should comply with the following key pieces of UK legislation.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) supports the legislation and can conduct enquiries into particular areas of practice. Its role includes promoting awareness of good practice and obligations under human rights and equality legislation. It  has a very useful website where you can find further resources and case examples which you can find here.

Equality Act 2010

• This Act consolidated previous equalities legislation into a single Act for the first time, replacing for example, the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Race Relations Act 1976
• The Act identified nine characteristics which are protected under the Act, i.e.
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender re-assignment
  • Marriage and Civil Partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Race
  • Religion and Belief
  • Sex
  • Sexual Orientation
• The Act also established the Public Sector Equality Duty (s149) placing a general duty on public authorities to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation in the carrying out of their functions
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Gender Recognition Act 2004 

• Allows people to apply for a gender recognition certificate, after which the person's gender becomes for all purposes the acquired gender. This includes marriage, social security benefits and pension, but does not affect the person's status as the father or mother of a child, or affect their succession under a will already made
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

The BASW Code of Ethics makes it clear that in all ways, human rights need to be at the heart of all your practice. Whenever you consider using your legal powers or duties, consideration should be given to how the action you are proposing might impact on the service users’ human rights. It is therefore important that you are familiar with both the articles of the ECHR and whether the article provides for any discretion in how it is applied.  An article which provides for an absolute right, should not be breached in any circumstances, however much you might think the action is in the service user’s best interests. By contrast, a qualified right may be breached if, in doing so, you are upholding the law, protecting the rights of another and the action is proportionate to the intended outcome. 

European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

• The ECHR protects the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of Europe
• The UK signed up to the Convention in 1951, but this did not mean that the convention rights were fully embedded in UK law
• In 1965, the UK agreed that its citizens alleging breaches of the ECHR could have a direct right to petition the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg
• In the UK our human rights under the ECHR are now protected by the Human Rights Act 1998. Allegation of breaches of any articles of the ECHR may therefore be heard in UK courts
• UK citizen may only take a case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg if and when they have exhausted all legal remedies in the UK courts
• All law made by Parliament and considered by the United Kingdom’s Courts and Tribunals must be compatible with the rights laid down in the ECHR, to which the UK is a signatory
• To access the Convention in full, please click here. 

Human Rights Act 1998

• The Human Rights Act 1998 is a piece of UK legislation introduced to incorporate into the UK legislative framework the articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) 
• The Human Rights Act means that all law, whenever made by UK Parliaments and Assembly governments, must be considered in the light of the European convention
• Courts deciding UK cases that concern human rights must also take into account judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
• Public Authorities have a positive duty to ensure effective protection of Convention rights 
• Under Section 6 a ‘public authority’ includes
  • a).A court or tribunal
  • b). Any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature, e.g. social workers.
  • Public authorities are under a legal duty not to act in a way that is incompatible with the Act.
• There are three forms of rights within the ECHR 
  • Rights may be 'absolute', which cannot be restricted in any circumstances e.g. Art. 3
  • 'qualified' which have to be balanced with competing public interests e.g. Art. 8
  • Some rights are 'limited', where there are specific exceptions, cited within the article itself, but not linked to the public interest e.g. Art. 5
• Any interference with a convention right must be proportionate to its intended outcome.  This means that even when acting to achieve a lawful aim, the means used to achieve that aim must not be excessive
• There are fourteen articles to the ECHR, two of which (Art.1 and Art.13) relate to the operation of the convention, the remaining articles set out what we commonly call ’human rights’
  • Art. 2 Right to Life
  • Art. 3 Freedom from torture or inhuman or degrading treatment
  • Art. 4 Freedom from slavery or forced labour
  • Art. 5 Right to Liberty
  • Art. 6 Right to a Fair Trial
  • Art. 7 No Punishment without Law
  • Art. 8 Right to Respect for Private and Family Life
  • Art. 9 Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion
  • Art. 10 Freedom of Expression
  • Art. 11 Freedom of Assembly and Association
  • Art. 12 Right to Marry
  • Art. 14 Prohibition of Discrimination – the above rights are to be enjoyed without discrimination on any ground
• To access the legislation in full, please click here. 

Whilst your placement agency will undoubtedly have its own policies on data protection and freedom of information, it is important to understand what the legislation requires. In 2018 the regulations on how personal data should be handled by organisations were introduced and all organisations have been required to review their data handling processes to ensure compliance with the new guidelines. Generally speaking all individuals have greater rights of access to information held about them and keeping accurate and appropriate records is an important skill.  

Both your University course and you placement agency should also have policies and procedures about ‘whistleblowing’ (i.e. raising concerns about poor, unethical or unlawful practice), these are however often poorly understood and sometimes ignored. Just as it is important that social workers, including those in training, raise concerns in a professional manner, it is important to know that there are protections in legislation for those who do so.

Data Protection Act 1998

• Relates to sensitive personal data, including ethnicity, religious beliefs, offences, health conditions, etc
• Gives individuals right of access to personal data
• Gives individuals right to prevent the processing of data if it will cause damage or distress
• Requires that information be processed lawfully and fairly
• Processing of data must be done with consent of the data subject or be necessary either to protect their or other people's vital interests or to facilitate a function conferred by legislation or government department
• Data may be used only for the legitimate purpose for which they were was obtained and must be accurate and up-to-date
• Data should not be kept for longer than is necessary and must be adequate, relevant and not excessive for their purpose
• Requires public bodies to respond to requests for access to information within 40 days and unless there are specific reasons relating to public interest, make such information available
• Established the role of Information Commissioner
• New European Guidance on Data Protection in the form of the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 has now been incorporated into the Data Protection Act 1998
• To read the guidance in full, please click here
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Data Protection (Subject Access Modification) (Social Work) (Amendment) Order 2011

• Specific regulations and guidance for social services have been issued with regard to confidentiality
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

• Provides a general right to information held by public authorities concerning their functions, rather than their involvement with particular individuals
• Specific timeframes operate within which organisations receiving requests for information must respond
• Some exceptions to the principle of transparency are allowed, such as commercially sensitive information or documentation that, if disclosed, would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime
• Organisations should provide training for staff on the procedures involved and have systems for tracking the location and movement of records, and for monitoring compliance with the Act
• To read the legislation in full, please click here. 

Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998

• The Public Interest Disclosure Act aims to protects workers who ''blow the whistle'' about wrongdoing
• It makes provisions about the kinds of disclosures which may be protected; the circumstances in which such disclosures are protected; and the persons who may be protected
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

The organisation Protect provides information and support for whistle-blowers here.

Your agency must have policies on health and safety, staff wellbeing, equality and bullying/harassment so seek them out and make use of them. Ideally, you should be introduced to these during your induction into your placement organisation so that you know what responsibilities you have for health and safety whilst on placement. The agency may also have a specific policy on workplace stress; much of which will be covered under Health and Safety legislation which is mandatory for any employing organisation. Violence and aggression is never acceptable in the work place whether from colleagues or clients. It is also important for social workers to be aware of lone working policies. 

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

• An Act to make further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work, for protecting others against risks to health or safety in connection with the activities of persons at work
• Both statutory and voluntary sector agencies have a legal duty of care to staff
• Though all aspects of health and safety are covered (there is a lot on manual work, for example), work-place stress is addressed and attention is paid also to protection from racial abuse, sexual harassment and bullying (which links to employers' duties under the Equality Act 2010)
• To read the legislation in full, please click here.

Additional guidance on workplace safety

Local Government Association (LGA) Standards for Employers

• The Social Work Reform Board in England recommended that social work employers carry out workplace 'health checks'; to monitor workload, manage workflow (allocation, for example), gauge the 'health' of the workplace (based on extent of staff involvement in decision-making, quantity and quality of supervision, sickness rates and availability of staff welfare and support services) and the effectiveness of services (based on user feedback, staff surveys, the views of other professionals and exit interviews) 
• This remains a voluntary measure, however, and refers to England only.
• To read the guidance in full please click here.