Legislation

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This site contains general legislation and links that are relevant to the children’s workforce and the guidance community. There may be other specific legislation that impacts on your role and is not contained within this site. You can find out more information on the different Acts of Parliment from the links below:

Click here to find useful links to websites that will assist in meeting the theory requirements for LDSS NVQ level 4

Caldicott Guardianship

In 1999, Chief Executives on NHS organisations were tasked with appointing Caldicott Guardians around the UK by the end of 1999 for inclusion on a national Register of Guardians.

Every NHS Trust has a Caldicott Guardian ? usually the Medical Director of the Trust. The Guardian’s key responsibilities are to oversee how staff use personal health information and ensure that patients’ rights to confidentiality are respected.

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Children Act

The Children Act 1989 covers the following:

reforms the law relating to children
makes provision for local authority services for children in need and others
amends the law with respect to children's homes, community home, voluntary homes and voluntary organisations
makes provision with respect to fostering, child minding and day care for young children and adoption, and for connected purposes

The Children Act 2004 places a duty on services to ensure that every child, whatever their background or circumstances, to have the support they need to:

be healthy
stay safe
enjoy and achieve through learning
make a positive contribution to society
achieve economic well-being

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Children's Rights

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Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) - UN Convention on the rights of a child (1989)
Get Ready for Change

Crime and Disorder Act

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is one of the most significant legislative changes to be made by the present Government, introducing new arrangements to improve community safety and the youth justice system.

The Act features six main themes: youth crime; crime and disorder; racist crime; combating delay; sex offenders, violent offenders and drug-misusing offenders; sentencing.

The Act introduces the anti-social behaviour order, the sex offender order and the drug treatment and testing order and guidance when dealing with racially-aggravated offences.

The principal aim of the youth justice system is the prevention of offending by children and young persons.

Parenting orders, child safety orders, local child curfew schemes, reprimands and warnings, reparation orders, action plan orders and detention and training orders are all introduced.

Youth offending teams and youth justice plans, and The Youth Justice Board have come into existence.

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Data Protection Act

Data protection law relates to the way organisations handle personal information of their staff and, in the case of our own organisation, young people.

The Data Protection Act 1998 tries to balance the rights of individuals and the interests of those with legitimate reasons for using personal information.

The Act gives individuals certain rights regarding information held about them. It places obligations on those who process data while giving rights to those who are the subject of that data.

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Disability Discrimination Act

There are three acts that ensure discrimination against disabled people is prevented. These are the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999.

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face.

In April 2005 a new Disability Discrimination Act was passed by Parliament, which amends or extends existing provisions in the DDA 1995.

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Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act

Introduced in 2005, the Act gives new powers for the police and courts to deal with offenders, while bolstering support and protection that victims receive. The Act includes:

Making common assault an arrestable offence.
Significant new police powers to deal with domestic violence including making it an arrestable, criminal offence to breach a non-molestation order, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Strengthening the civil law on domestic violence to ensure cohabiting same-sex couples have the same access to non-molestation and occupation orders as opposite sex couples, and extending the availability of these orders to couples who have never lived together or been married.
Stronger legal protection for victims of domestic violence by enabling courts to impose restraining orders when sentencing for any offence. Until now, such orders could only be imposed on offenders convicted of harassment or causing fear of violence.
Enabling courts to impose restraining orders on acquittal for any offence (or if a conviction has been overturned on appeal) if they consider it necessary to protect the victim from harassment. This will deal with cases where the conviction has failed but it is still clear from the evidence that the victims need protecting.
Putting in place a system to review domestic violence homicide incidents, drawing in the key agencies, to find out what can be done to put the system right and prevent future deaths.
Giving victims of mentally disordered offenders the same rights to information as other victims of serious violent and sexual offences.
Giving the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority the right to recover from offenders the money it has paid to their victims in compensation.
Closing a legal loophole by creating a new offence of causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult. The offence establishes a new criminal responsibility for members of a household where they know that a child or vulnerable adult is at significant risk of serious harm.

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Education Act

Everyone has the right to education and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) have a statutory duty to ensure that education is available for all children of compulsory school age (five to 16 year-olds) in their area, appropriate to their age, abilities, aptitudes and any special educational needs that they might have.

LEAs also have a duty to give parents in the area the opportunity to express a preference as to which school they wish their child to attend or whether they have a desire for alternative education.

These duties apply to all children residing in the LEA’s area and include Gypsy and Traveller children

The 2002 Act to makes provision about education, training and is intended to raise standards, promote innovation in schools and reform education law.

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Employment and Equality Regulations

They are two sets of regulations: the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 and the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 which outlaw discrimination in employment and vocational training on the grounds of sexual orientation and religion or belief respectively.

What do they outlaw?

Direct discrimination - treating people less favourably than others on grounds of sexual orientation or religion or belief;
Indirect discrimination - applying a provision, criterion or practice which disadvantages people of a particular sexual orientation or religion or belief and which is not justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim;
Harassment - unwanted conduct that violates people's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment;
Victimisation - treating people less favourably because of something they have done under or in connection with the Regulations, e.g. made a formal complaint of discrimination or given evidence in a tribunal case.

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Gillick Competency (Fraser Update)

Gillick Competency covers the parental right to determine whether or not a child below the age of 16 will or will not have medical treatment terminates if and when the child achieves sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him to understand fully what is proposed.

Note that 'Gilliick competence' relates to the particular child and the particular treatment, and there have been cases where a 17-year-old has been found insufficiently competent to refuse medical treatment, while in other cases much younger children have been deemed sufficiently competent.

In addition, where a child is 16 or 17 either parent or child can consent to treatment independently (though neither can override the other or exercise a veto). The court can, however, override the wishes of both where treatment is vital to the child's welfare.

The Access to Health Records Act 1990 further complicates the picture in allowing a child under 16, deemed 'Gillick competent' by a doctor, to veto the parent's access to medical information held by that doctor, even though the parent can consent to treatment which the child cannot veto.

It is for the doctor to decide whether or not an individual child is Gillick competent or not. Guidelines also state that a child that shows they are Gillick/Fraser competent child should be empowered to make their own decisions to the same extent as an adult.

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Health and Safety At Work Act

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 lays down wide-ranging duties on employers:

Employers must protect the 'health, safety and welfare' at work of all their employees. However, these duties are qualified with the words 'so far as is reasonably practicable'. This means that employers can argue that the costs of a particular safety measure are not justified by the reduction in risk that the measure would produce.

It allows the government to issue Regulations, Guidance and Approved Codes of Practice for employers. These set out detailed responsibilities for your employer in every aspect of workplace health and safety, from working safely with computers, to stress and hazardous chemicals.

The HASAW Act set up the Health and Safety Commission, and an inspectorate called the Health and Safety Executive.

The Act introduced new powers and penalties for enforcement against employers. It also puts occupational safety at the heart of official policy and future Regulations.

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Human Rights Act

The Human Rights Act 1998 is an important and wide-ranging law which could affect almost every part of our lives and protects our rights and freedoms.

There are sixteen basic rights to life and they include the right to life, the right to a fair trial, the prohibition of torture, freedom of expression and more.

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Leaving Care Act 2000

The main aim of the Act is to give care leavers enough support and advice to make a successful transition to independent living.

Eligible children

Children aged 16 and 17 who have been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and who are still looked after.

Relevant children

Children aged 16 and 17 who have been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14, and have been looked after at some time while 16 or 17 and who have left care. Additional groups of relevant children are those who would have been relevant children but for the fact that on their 16th birthday they were detained through the criminal justice system or in hospital, or those that have returned home but the return has broken down.

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Mental Capacity Act

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Mental Health Act

The vast majority of the people receiving treatment in a mental hospital or psychiatric unit are informal patients, which means they are in hospital on a voluntary basis and have the same rights as a person being treated for a physical illness.

Formal patients are compulsorily detained under a section of the Mental Health Act 1983 and lose some of the rights enjoyed by informal patients.

People with mental health problems deserve good care and support. They are often vulnerable, may have difficulty in expressing their needs and, in some cases, may not recognise that they need help.

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Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act

An asylum seeker is someone who comes to the UK, often fleeing persecution, torture or war, and who applies for refugee status. A person remains an asylum seeker while their application to the Home Office is being considered or the appeals on it are continuing.

Asylum seekers face homelessness and particular difficulties in getting accommodation. Changes in legislation have restricted their rights to public housing, welfare benefits and employment. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 introduced new immigration controls and powers, and sweeping changes to the way asylum seekers are supported while they wait for a decision on their application.

Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, asylum seekers lost their entitlements to benefits or support under provisions of the National Assistance Act. Asylum seekers are supported by a system of vouchers and receive a small amount of cash each week.

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Protection of Children - March 2009

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Race Relations Act

The Race Relations Act became law in 1976 with amendments in 2000. Under this Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against anyone on grounds of race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), or ethnic or national origin.

All racial groups are protected from discrimination. including gypsies, travellers and asylum seekers.

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Safeguarding Children and Young People

Safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation

Sex Discrimination Act

At the end of 1975 the Sex Discrimination Act was passed. It is unlawful for someone to be treated unfairly because of their sex (gender). The Act, updated in 2004, covers several area:

Direct sex discrimination
Indirect sex discrimination
Discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment
Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation
Discrimination in employment

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