CONSULTATION ON DRAFT REGULATIONS RELATING TO THE CARE ACT 2014

Executive Summary

The Care Act 2014 ("the Act") was introduced in the House of Lords on 9 May 2013 and received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. The Act creates a legislative basis for local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make cross-border placements for those who require care in residential accommodation in Scotland. Equivalent provisions exist in Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish legislation allowing authorities in those areas to make cross-border placements. These provisions will be supplemented further to allow local authorities to make cross-border placements comprising of accommodation with nursing care.

The Act is generally concerned with care and support matters in England and makes provision for:

• reforming the law in relation to care and support for adults;
• the law relating to support for carers;
• safeguarding adults from abuse or neglect;
• care standards;
• establish and make provision about Health Education England;
• establish and make provision about the Health Research Authority and for connected purposes to regulate assessments of the ethics of health and social care research.

The Act also extends to Scotland in three areas, namely:

• Cross-border placement arrangements;
• Dispute resolutions; and,
• Provider failure arrangements.

The Scottish Government has been working with administrations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to enable cross-border placements. A legislative framework for cross border placements has now been agreed as part of the Act. This creates a clear and consistent approach across the whole of the UK in cross border placements, provider failure situations and dispute resolutions.

Draft regulations have been published to accompany the Act in collaboration with the devolved administrations to achieve consistency in this new framework. This framework contains overarching principles prescribing which authority has financial and operational responsibility for people who are subject to such cross-border placements. Schedule one of the Act sets out the general principles that the placing authority retains all of the duties which it would have had if the individual had remained in their area and the individual's ordinary residence does not change.

Consultation on these regulations will run for ten weeks from 9 June - 18 August and will cover draft Regulations relating to cross-border placements, dispute resolutions and provider failure arrangements.