The Act creates three types of certificate:
a criminal conviction certificate, issued only to individuals and showing only convictions recorded in central police records which are not spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. It will be a matter for the applicant and employer to decide when it is reasonable to require that such a certificate be produced
a criminal record certificate, described as a "full" check, covering both spent and unspent convictions. This will be available for occupations which are exceptions to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, such as doctors, nurses, teachers and prison officers. A joint application will need to be made by the individual and organisation which is seeking the check. Information will be provided from central police records about spent and un-spent convictions and about cautions. It will still be a matter for the applicant and employer to decide when it is reasonable to require that such a certificate be produced but when there is a certificate, there will be more information contained in it.
an enhanced criminal record certificate, described as an "enhanced" check in the White Paper, again covering both spent and unspent convictions and other information. This will be restricted to those working on a regular, unsupervised basis with children; for certain licensing purposes; and, prior to appointment, judges and magistrates. An enhanced certificate will include the information contained in a criminal record certificate, plus information from local police records. There is still no requirement that such a certificate is required as a prerequisite in any occupation.
Sexual Offences Act 2005
This Act clearly states that any individual who has taken part in a sexual abuse act should be convicted and charged for the act which they have committed. The Act clearly states that anyone who has committed the offense through any form such as rape, any coerced sexual act against a child (anyone under the age of 18 is known to be a child), sexual assault in this legislation has been sub divided into many sections such as; family, if they have been assaulted by and penetrated or not, and also the ages have been subdivided too. The legislation also covers any individual being abused sexually verbally too, for example if inappropiate uuse of language has been used, then individuals can get arrested from that too.
Care Standards Act 2000
The existing regulation of private nursing and residential homes by the Registered Homes Act 1984 has now been replaced since 1st April 2002 by the Care Standards Act 2000. The job of regulating the independent health and care sector by health authorities and local authorities has now been taken over by the National Care Standards Commission which is also known as NCSC, which was established in April 2001. From 1st April 2002, the NCSC became responsible for the registration and inspection of all care homes and private healthcare facilities in England. All these facilities are now categorised as either "Care Homes" or "Independent Hospitals". For those in the mental health sector, which were previously known as "Mental Nursing Homes" will now be "Independent Hospitals" this also includes Independent Psychiatrict Hospitals.
The purpose of the new regime is to create consistency implementing the legislation and the application of this to the independent health and care sector. Previously, where the function had been undertaken by the various health authorities, there was a significant variation across the country in the application and interpretation of the legislation and the intention is now to create some consistency through the NCSC.
Mental Health Act 1983
The main purpose of the Mental Health Act 1983 is to allow compulsory action to be taken, where necessary, to make sure that people with mental disorders get the care and treatment they need for their own health or safety, and for the protection of other people. It sets out the criteria that must be met before compulsory actions can be taken, along with protections and safeguards for patients. Part 2 of the Act sets out the civil procedures under which people can be detained in hospital for assessment or treatment of mental disorder. Detention under these procedures normally requires a formal application by either an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) or the patient’s nearest relative, which has been described in the Act.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a statutory framework to empower and protect vulnerable people who are not able to make their own decisions. It makes it clear who can take decisions, in which situations, and how they should go about this. It enables people to plan ahead for a time when they may lose capacity.
- 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;
- The right for individuals to be supported to make their own decisions - people must be given all appropriate help before anyone concludes that they cannot make their own decisions;
- That individuals must retain the right to make what might be seen as eccentric or unwise decisions;
- Best interests – anything done for or on behalf of people without capacity must be in their best interests; and
- Least restrictive intervention – anything done for or on behalf of people without capacity should be the least restrictive of their basic rights and freedoms
- The Act enshrines in statute current best practice and common law principles concerning people who lack mental capacity and those who take decisions on their behalf. It replaces current statutory schemes for enduring powers of attorney and Court of Protection receivers with reformed and updated schemes.
The Data Protection Act 1998
The Data Protection Act sets out eight protection principles which form the legislative framework and with which a data controller must comply.
1st: Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully.
2nd: Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes.
3rd: Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed.
4th: Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
5th: Personal data processed for any purpose shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose.
6th: Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under the Act.
7th: Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of or damage to personal data.
8th: Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area…
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 gives further legal effect in the UK to the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. These rights not only impact matters of life and death, they also affect the rights you have in your everyday life: what you can say and do, your beliefs, your right to a fair trial and other similar basic entitlements.
Most rights have limits to ensure that they do not unfairly damage other people's rights. However, certain rights – such as the right not to be tortured – can never be limited by a court or anybody else.
You have the responsibility to respect other people's rights, and they must respect yours.
Your human rights are:
- the right to life
- freedom from torture and degrading treatment
- freedom from slavery and forced labour
- the right to liberty
- the right to a fair trial
- the right not to be punished for something that wasn't a crime when you did it
- the right to respect for private and family life
- freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and freedom to express your beliefs
- freedom of expression
- freedom of assembly and association
- the right to marry and to start a family
- the right not to be discriminated against in respect of these rights and freedoms
- the right to peaceful enjoyment of your property
- the right to an education
- the right to participate in free elections
- the right not to be subjected to the death penalty
If any of these rights and freedoms are breached, you have a right to an effective solution in law, even if the breach was by someone in authority, such as, for example, a police officer.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 came into force in April
2001. The Act amends the Race Relations Act 1976 and strengthens
its application to public authorities in several important ways:
∙ It extends the scope of race relations legislation to cover areas that
were previously excluded, and makes it unlawful for public authorities
to discriminate on racial grounds in carrying out any of their functions
