Making decisions for your children are often seen as natural and necessary thing to do to ensure your son or daughter is safe and that you are acting in their best interest, however when a child becomes an adult (18 years old) they inherit rights. Within the care provision providing support for your son/daughter,  it is also essential that every safeguard is made not to restrict their freedom.
We would like to tell you about some laws and regulations that affect how provisions work and what they can and cannot do. These laws and regulations also affect members of the public and are in place to support and uphold people’s rights, whether they live at home or in any care setting.
We would encourage you to look at this information and discuss the implications with other members of your family, particularly the person who
is going to receive the care.

Health & Social Care Act 2008

• This provides the legal framework for nearly all health and social care services

• Two important regulations are about including the person being cared for in decision making and providing the care and services with their consent

• If we cannot get that person’s consent then we must get the consent of a person who is lawfully authorised to consent on that person’s behalf. This would normally be someone who holds power of attorney. It is important to note that this is not family/next of kin

• Where a person does not have the capacity to make a decision when it needs to be made), and there is no power of attorney then the people who support and care for that person will make the decision in that person’s best interests

You can get more information from:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/14/contents

Mental Capacity Act 2005

• This provides the legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of anyone who lacks the mental capacity to make particular decisions for themselves

• Everyone working with and/or caring for an adult who may lack capacity to make specic decisions must comply with this Act when making decisions or acting for that person

• The same rules apply whether the decisions are life-changing events or everyday matters

• It provides the framework for establishing powers of attorney

• It also advises on what must be done if someone has not got capacity to make a decision and there is no one with any form of power of attorney – this is known as “best interests”

You can get more information from:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents