Legislation protecting people in care

Overview National Assistance Act 1948 Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 NHS and Community Care Act 1990 National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 Human Rights Act 1998 Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 Equality Act 2010 Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 Public Bodies (Joint working) (Scotland) Act 2014 Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 Further information about legislation

Human Rights Act 1998

The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law.

The act means that public authorities must protect and abide by these human rights. This includes:

• police
• government
• councils

The act protects everyone in the UK, including people getting social care support.

The act also means that those responsible for providing social care services must respect human rights. If they do not respect them, they can be held to account. If human rights have been breached, cases can be taken to UK courts. 

Find out about making a complaint about your social care support.

Your human rights in privately run care homes

The Care Act 2014 protects people in Scotland living in privately run care homes if your:

• fees are funded by the council
• your contract for social care support was arranged by the council

For more information, read the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland’s Human Rights in Scotland.