Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

Restriction of scope of regulated activities: vulnerable adults

3 (1) Parts 2 and 3 of Schedule 2 to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (regulated activity relating to vulnerable adults and the period condition) are amended as follows.

(2) For paragraph 7(1) to (3) (main activities which are regulated activity) substitute—

“(1) Each of the following is a regulated activity relating to vulnerable adults—

(a) the provision to an adult of health care by, or under the direction or supervision of, a health care professional,

(b) the provision to an adult of relevant personal care,

(c) the provision by a social care worker of relevant social work to an adult who is a client or potential client,

(d) the provision of assistance in relation to general household matters to an adult who is in need of it by reason of age, illness or disability,

(e) any relevant assistance in the conduct of an adult’s own affairs,

(f) the conveying by persons of a prescribed description in such circumstances as may be prescribed of adults who need to be conveyed by reason of age, illness or disability,

(g) such activities—

(i) involving, or connected with, the provision of health care or relevant personal care to adults, and

(ii) not falling within any of the above paragraphs,

as are of a prescribed description.

(2) Health care includes all forms of health care provided for individuals, whether relating to physical or mental health and also includes palliative care and procedures that are similar to forms of medical or surgical care but are not provided in connection with a medical condition.

(3) A health care professional is a person who is a member of a profession regulated by a body mentioned in section 25(3) of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002.

(3A) Any reference in this Part of this Schedule to health care provided by, or under the direction or supervision of, a health care professional includes a reference to first aid provided to an adult by any person acting on behalf of an organisation established for the purpose of providing first aid.

(3B) Relevant personal care means—

(a) physical assistance, given to a person who is in need of it by reason of age, illness or disability, in connection with—

(i) eating or drinking (including the administration of parenteral nutrition),

(ii) toileting (including in relation to the process of menstruation),

(iii) washing or bathing,

(iv) dressing,

(v) oral care, or

(vi) the care of skin, hair or nails,

(b) the prompting, together with supervision, of a person who is in need of it by reason of age, illness or disability in relation to the performance of any of the activities listed in paragraph (a) where the person is unable to make a decision in relation to performing such an activity without such prompting and supervision, or

(c) any form of training, instruction, advice or guidance which—

(i) relates to the performance of any of the activities listed in paragraph (a),

(ii) is given to a person who is in need of it by reason of age, illness or disability, and

(iii) does not fall within paragraph (b).

(3C) Relevant social work has the meaning given by section 2(4) of the Health and Personal Social Services Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 and social care worker means a person who is a social care worker by virtue of section 2(2)(a) of that Act.

(3D) Assistance in relation to general household matters is day to day assistance in relation to the running of the household of the person concerned where the assistance is the carrying out of one or more of the following activities on behalf of that person—

(a) managing the person’s cash,

(b) paying the person’s bills,

(c) shopping.

(3E) Relevant assistance in the conduct of a person’s own affairs is anything done on behalf of the person by virtue of—

(a) an enduring power of attorney (within the meaning of the Enduring Powers of Attorney (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (NI 16)>) in respect of the person which is—

(i) registered in accordance with that Order, or

(ii) the subject of an application to be so registered,

(b) an order made under Article 99 or 101 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (NI 4) by the High Court in relation to the person or the person’s property or affairs, or

(c) the appointment of a representative to receive payments on behalf of the person in pursuance of regulations made under the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.”

(3) Omit paragraph 7(4) (certain activities in residential care or nursing homes to be regulated activity).

(4) In paragraph 7(5) (day to day management or supervision of certain activities to be regulated activity) omit “, (4)”.

(5) Omit paragraph 7(9) (functions of certain persons to be regulated activity).

(6) Omit paragraph 8 (the persons referred to in paragraph 7(9) whose functions are to be regulated activity).

(7) In paragraph 10(2) (the period condition)—

(a) omit “or 7(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (g)”, and

(b) in paragraph (b), omit “or vulnerable adults (as the case may be)”.