Please note that we are still in the process of updating this page; we will be adding further details to this as soon as we can
These are provided for information purposes and this page should not be used as constituting any legal advice. If you think you may need legal advice, please see our pages on legal support and legal resources.
Acts of Parliament
Some of the key Acts that are relevant for children, young people and adults with a learning disability, and their families, are:
- Human Rights Act (1998)
- Equality Act (2010)
- Mental Health Act (1983)
- Mental Capacity Act (2005)
- Children and Families Act (2014)
- Care Act (2014)
- Health and Care Act (2022)
- Autism Act (2009)
Other Acts that may be useful are:
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001)
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (Northern Ireland) (2016) – please note that this Act only applies to Northern Ireland and does not apply to other parts of the UK
Proposed Acts
Mental Health Bill
Following the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, the Conservative government committed to reforming the Mental Health Act so that people with learning disabilities and autistic people could no longer be detained just for having a learning disability or being autistic, as well as tackling structural racism within the mental health system and strengthening the rights and choices of people who are detained.
In 2022, a Draft Mental Health Bill was published, informed by the Independent Review. The Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill, a group of MPs and peers, heard evidence from a range of people and organisations with expertise and lived experience, and produced a report which was published in January 2023.
The Conservative government’s response to the Joint Committee’s report was published in March 2024.
In their first King’s Speech in July 2024, the new Labour government committed to reforming the Mental Health Act. We are awaiting the introduction of these reforms into Parliament.
To help the ministers and civil servants working on reforms to the Mental Health Act, the CBF and a range of other learning disability and autism organisations produced briefings on the proposed reforms.
Mental Health Act reform (shortened)
We have also produced briefings on the need for concurrent investment in community support for people with a learning disability and autistic people, including the key issues facing people with a learning disability and autistic people and the impact of these, what actions need to be taken, and good practice case studies showing how these reforms can be implemented successfully.
Community support case studies
National Care Service (Scotland) Bill
(Please note that this applies to Scotland only) In 2022, the Scottish Government introduced a Bill to the Scottish Parliament that proposes to transfer social care responsibilities from local authorities to a new National Care Service, similar to the National Health Service (NHS). In February 2024 MSPs voted for the general principles in the Bill, including establishing a National Care Charter, rights to breaks for carers, and Anne’s Law (which gives people in care homes the right to be visited by their families).
This Bill is currently at Stage 2 of the Scottish Parliament’s process, with royal consent expected to be granted if and when it reaches Stage 3 (when the Scottish Parliament will vote on whether it becomes law). In Stage 2, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee will be considering amendments to the Bill, and is expected to hear more evidence in Autumn 2024.
In their 2024 manifesto, the Labour Party also committed to creating a National Care Service for the UK. We will update on this as more information about these plans comes out.
Proposed Restraint and Seclusion (Prevention in Schools) (Scotland) Bill
(Please note that this applies to Scotland only) In June 2023, Daniel Johnson MSP submitted a proposal for a Member’s Bill that would ensure that restraint and seclusion of children and young people was only used as a last resort where there is an immediate risk of harm, as well as to ensure that any methods of restraint/seclusion were appropriate. A consultation on this proposed Member’s Bill closed in September 2023 and we are awaiting further news on whether this Bill will progress.
Government Strategies
Building the Right Support Action Plan
Following the publication of Building the Right Support – a document setting out plans to develop community support and stop people with a learning disability and autistic people from being inappropriately detained in inpatient settings – in 2015, people and organisations including the CBF lobbied the government to produce a formal action plan setting out how they would achieve the aims of the Building the Right Support programme. This led to the publication of the Building the Right Support Action Plan in 2022, which was published alongside a table of commitments setting out the specific actions being taken.
National Disability Strategy and Disability Action Plan
In 2021, the government published the National Disability Strategy. This was followed in 2024 by the Disability Action Plan. Please note that these are not specific to supporting children, young people and adults with a learning disability, although people with a learning disability do come under these strategies.
SEND and Alternative Provision Plan
In March 2023, following a consultation on a green paper, the government published their plan to improve the provision of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Adult Social Care Reform
In 2021 the government published a white paper, People at the Heart of Care, setting out aims to reform the adult social care system. This was followed in 2023 by Next Steps to Put People at the Heart of Care, a plan with details of what actions would be taken between 2023 and 2025.
Other Policies/Strategies
Service model: Supporting people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges, including those with a mental health condition
This service model, which accompanies the Building the Right Support national plan and action plan, is a joint model by NHS England, the Local Government Association (LGA), and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) on how to support people with a learning disability and autistic people. NHS England, the LGA and ADASS also published Transforming Care Model Service Specifications: supporting implementation of the service model in 2017, which provides further guidance for commissioners.
In 2017, NHS England and the LGA also published guidance on developing support and services for children and young people with a learning disability, autism or both.
NICE Guidance
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have published several pieces of guidance, quality standards, and other guides on how to support people with a learning disability.
NG93 Learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges: service design and delivery (2018)
This guidance covers children, young people and adults with a learning disability whose behaviour challenges. It focuses on what services are needed and what they can do to best support people whose behaviour challenges.
This guidance is aimed at:
- Commissioners and providers of health and social care services for children, young people and adults with a learning disability whose behaviour challenges
- Health and social care practitioners
- Providers of related services, such as housing, education, employment and criminal justice services
- Practitioners working with children, young people and adults whose behaviour challenges within these related services
- Children, young people and adults with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges
- Families of children, young people and adults with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges
- Carers of children, young people and adults with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges
NG11 Challenging behaviour and learning disabilities: prevention and interventions for people with learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges (2015)
This guidance focuses on interventions and support for children, young people and adults with a learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges. The focus is on understanding the cause(s) of challenging behaviour, assessing this behaviour, and what actions can be taken to improve quality of life. This guidance also covers the support/intervention that family members and carers may need.
This guidance is for:
- Healthcare professionals
- Commissioners
- Providers
- Parents, family members and/or carers of children, young people and adults with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges
QS101 Learning disability: behaviour that challenges (2015; updated 2019)
This quality standard (a priority area for NICE where they have identified that there are variations in current practice) covers what high quality care should look like for children, young people and adults with a learning disability (including those who are also autistic) whose behaviour challenges, their families and carers. The quality statements included in this standard set out what practice should be, including in areas around person-centred support, involving families, reducing restrictive interventions, and tackling overmedication.
NG54 Mental health problems in people with learning disabilities: prevention, assessment and management (2016)
People with a learning disability can experience poor mental health, but are at risk of diagnostic overshadowing – where doctors attribute other health issues to the fact that the person has a learning disability. Some of the main treatments for poor mental health are also not appropriate for people with a learning disability, and need to be adapted to be effective. This guidance covers how to prevent, assess and manage mental health problems in people who have a learning disability.
Find out more about learning disabilities and mental health
NG96 Care and support of people growing older with learning disabilities (2018)
As people with a learning disability grow older, their needs might change. This guidance looks at how to identify changing needs and plan for the future.
This guidance is for:
- Providers of social care, health and housing support for people with learning disabilities
- Practitioners in social care, health and housing
- Commissioners and people with a strategic role in assessing and planning local services
- Practitioners in other related services, like older people’s services, adult learning disability services, employment, education and criminal justice services
- People with learning disabilities, their families, carers and advocates
Find out more about the CBF’s work to support older family carers
Read the ‘Growing Older’ section of the Co-Produced Action Plan
Arranging services for people with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges
This ‘quick guide for commissioners’ covers:
- Planning and delivering services
- Services in the community
- Specialist support
- Housing
The image used on this page is licensed under CC BY 2.0: Tony Moorey, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons