Care Standards Legislation Handbook

Care Standards Legislation Handbook, 5th edition

★★★★★

His Honour Judge David Pearl

Jordan Publishing

ISBN 9781846611049

Review by Ed Mitchell, solicitor and general editor of Social Care Law Today (Arden Davies Publishing).

Until the enactment of the Care Standards Act 2000, the maintenance of care standards was left to the marketplace with a few exceptions. By introducing registration of provision and workforce, with detailed associated regulations, the 2000 act ushered in one of the law’s most significant growth areas of recent years.

This edition of the Care Standards Legislation Handbook gathers together in one place what appears to be all the relevant English (but not Welsh) legislation regarding the regulation of care activities.

In some respects this does not matter for example, the care homes regulations are largely self-explanatory.

In other respects, however, it does matter. The almost impenetrable Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 is likely to baffle almost all readers, legally qualified or not.

The handbook is fully comprehensive in its coverage of English legislation relating to care services. One particularly useful addition is the various rules of the General Social Care Council.

It does not, however, include the national minimum standards applicable to settings required to be registered under the Care Standards Act 2000.

In summary, it is useful to have all the legislation gathered together in one place, but for analysis and explanation one must look elsewhere.

Published in 6 November 2008 edition of Community Care magazine