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Safeguarding Adults Legislation in England

Find out more about the latest Safeguarding Adults legislation in England here.

• The Care Act 2014

  The Care Act 2014 established six key safeguarding principles that underpin all adult safeguarding work: empowerment, prevention, proportionality of response, protection, partnership, and accountability. The Care Act balances the right to be safe with the right to make informed choices, whilst also promoting the adult’s wellbeing by outlining ten different types of adult safeguarding risks: physical, financial, sexual, psychological, discriminatory, and organisation abuse; domestic violence; neglect; self-neglect; and modern slavery.

  See our Safeguarding Adults courses here.

• Care and Support Statutory Guidance (Department of Health and Social Care) 2018

  Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2018 constitutes guidance outlining how organisations and professionals can meet the requirements set out in the Care Act 2014.

• Mental Capacity Act 2005

  The Mental Capacity Act 2005 protects people who are unable to make decisions for themselves because of an impairment of the mind due to a stroke or brain injury, mental health illness, dementia, learning disability, confusion, drowsiness or unconsciousness caused by substance misuse or side effect of medication.

  The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 amends the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and introduces the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) – a new process that will provide protection for people aged 16 and above who are or who need to be deprived of their liberty in order to enable their care or treatment and lack the mental capacity to consent to their arrangements, in England and Wales.

  The implementation of the LPS was planned to begin in April 2022, but was delayed in 2021.

  See our courses covering the Mental Capacity Act here.

• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

  The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (SVGA) 2006 was passed to help avoid harm, or risk of harm, by preventing people who are deemed unsuitable to work with children and adults at risk from gaining access to them through their work. The Independent Safeguarding Authority was established as a result of this Act.

  On 1st December 2012, the Criminal Records Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority merged to become the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Organisations with responsibility for providing services or personnel to at-risk groups have a legal obligation to refer relevant information to the service.

• Health and Social Care Act 2012

  The Health and Social Care Act established a legislative framework to support collaboration and partnership working to integrate services for patients. Among a wide range of other measures, the Act also includes targeted changes to public health, social care and the oversight of quality and safety.

• Data Protection Act 2018

  The Data Protection Act 2018 sets out the framework for data protection legislation in the UK, replacing the Data Protection Act 1998. It supports the protection of information by outlining how personal data must be stored, collected and processed, and is relevant to adult safeguarding practice because it sets out when information should be shared, and lines of responsibility for the collection and processing of data.

• Equality Act 2010

  The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination and harassment in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.

• Human Rights Act 1998

  The Human Rights Act 1998 sets out human rights in a series of ‘Articles’, known as the ‘Convention Rights’. Human rights cannot be taken away from you by anybody, although some rights may not be guaranteed in some circumstances (non-absolute rights); for example, the right to liberty may not be upheld if an individual is detained under the Mental Health Act, making this a non-absolute right.

• Public Interest Discloser Act 1998

  An important part of providing care is ensuring a working environment that encourages people to challenge practices in their own workplace. The law offers some protection from victimisation to people who blow the whistle under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998. The parameters of ‘protected disclosure’ are set out in the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996.

  Protect offers free, confidential whistleblowing advice on 020 3117 2520

• Sexual Offences Act 2003

  The Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003 modernised the law by prohibiting any sexual activity between a care worker and a person with a mental disorder. A ‘relationship of care’ exists if one person has a mental disorder and another person provides care. It includes doctors, nurses, care workers in homes, workers providing services in clinics or hospitals and volunteers. The offences in the Act relating to care workers apply whether or not the victim appears to consent, and whether or not they have the legal capacity to consent. This does not prevent care workers from providing intimate personal care, so long as the behaviour is not intended to be sexual.