Division 87
Residential Care
Requirements for all residential care
These requirements apply to all business activities in this division.
Registration with the care regulator (regulated activity)
Enforced by CQC
Health and Social Care Act 2008; Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014; Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009
Providing accommodation together with personal or nursing care is a 'regulated activity' (Schedule 1 to the Regulated Activities Regulations 2014); the provider and a registered manager must register with CQC before operating and meet the fundamental standards (Regs 9-20A, including safe care, safeguarding, dignity, duty of candour). CQC inspects and publishes ratings. Devolved equivalents: Scotland — registration with the Care Inspectorate under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp/2010/8); Wales — Care Inspectorate Wales under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw/2016/2); Northern Ireland — RQIA under the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (NI) Order 2003 (nisi/2003/431). NOT applicable to children's homes (see 87.90).
Registration with the Care Inspectorate (Scotland) — regulated care service
Enforced by CARE_INSPECTORATE_SCOTLAND
Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010
Scotland equivalent of CQC registration. A care home service providing accommodation together with nursing or personal care must register with the Care Inspectorate before operating and meet the Health and Social Care Standards; the Care Inspectorate inspects and grades services.
Registration with Care Inspectorate Wales — care home service
Enforced by CIW
Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016
Wales equivalent of CQC registration. A care home service must register with Care Inspectorate Wales before operating and meet the regulated-service standards; CIW inspects and publishes reports.
Registration with RQIA — residential/nursing care home
Enforced by RQIA
Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Northern Ireland equivalent of CQC registration. Residential and nursing care homes must register with the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) before operating and meet the relevant care standards; RQIA inspects and reports.
DBS check — healthcare for children (regulated activity)
Enforced by DBS
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006; The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Regulated Activity, Devolution and Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2010
Providing healthcare to a child is regulated activity, so anyone you employ or engage to do it needs an enhanced DBS check including the children's barred list, and it is an offence to let a barred person do the work. There is no frequency test for this limb: once is enough. Scotland runs the PVG scheme through Disclosure Scotland and Northern Ireland uses AccessNI.
DBS check — healthcare for adults by a regulated professional (regulated activity)
Enforced by DBS
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006; The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Regulated Activity, Devolution and Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2010
Healthcare for an adult is regulated activity when it is provided by a regulated health care professional, or by someone acting under one's direction or supervision. Both facts have to hold: a business with no registered practitioner is not in this limb, and a registered practitioner who only treats children is in the children's limb instead. Staff doing the work need an enhanced DBS check including the adults' barred list.
DBS check — personal care for children (regulated activity)
Enforced by DBS
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006; The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Regulated Activity, Devolution and Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2010
Personal care for a child — help with washing, dressing, eating or going to the toilet, or training or supervising someone doing it — is regulated activity from the first time it is provided. Staff need an enhanced DBS check including the children's barred list.
DBS check — personal care for adults (regulated activity)
Enforced by DBS
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006; The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Regulated Activity, Devolution and Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2010
Personal care for an adult is regulated activity whatever the setting, and the test is the activity rather than whether the adult is thought vulnerable. Staff need an enhanced DBS check including the adults' barred list, and it is an offence to let a barred person do the work.
DBS check — supervising or managing regulated activity
Enforced by DBS
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006; The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Regulated Activity, Devolution and Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2010
Day-to-day management or supervision of people carrying out regulated activity is regulated activity in its own right, so a registered manager or a supervisor needs the check even if they never provide care themselves.
PVG scheme membership (Disclosure Scotland) for staff in regulated work
Enforced by DISCLOSURE_SCOTLAND
Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007
Scotland equivalent of the enhanced DBS check. Care staff undertaking regulated work with vulnerable adults or children must be members of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, administered by Disclosure Scotland; it is an offence to employ a barred individual in regulated work. No regulator code exists for Disclosure Scotland in the estate.
AccessNI enhanced checks for staff in regulated activity
Enforced by ACCESSNI
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007
Northern Ireland equivalent of the enhanced DBS check. Staff undertaking regulated activity with vulnerable adults or children require an AccessNI enhanced check including barred-list checks. No regulator code exists for AccessNI in the estate.
Mental Capacity Act compliance and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
Enforced by CQC
Mental Capacity Act 2005; Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019
Care providers must assess mental capacity, act in residents' best interests, and where a resident who lacks capacity is deprived of their liberty in a care home, obtain authorisation through the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) via the supervisory body (the local authority). The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 enacted the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) to replace DoLS, but LPS is NOT yet in force — DoLS remains operative. Scotland: Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 compliance
Enforced by CARE_INSPECTORATE_SCOTLAND
Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
Scotland equivalent of the Mental Capacity Act / DoLS regime. Care providers must assess capacity and act under the welfare and financial safeguards of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000; deprivation of liberty in Scotland is authorised separately under mental health and guardianship law rather than DoLS.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — general duties
Enforced by HSE
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
General duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees and others affected — including residents and visitors. In care settings this extends to moving-and-handling, legionella control in water systems, infection prevention and control, and scalding/hot-surface risks.
Employers' Liability Insurance
Enforced by HSE
Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
Required for any business employing at least one person. Care providers also typically carry public liability and professional indemnity cover.
UK GDPR + Data Protection Act 2018
Enforced by ICO
Data Protection Act 2018; UK GDPR (retained EU law)
Care providers process extensive special category data (health, care plans, medication records). ICO registration unless exempt; appropriate-policy document and heightened safeguards required for health data.
Equality Act 2010 — protected characteristics
Enforced by EHRC
Equality Act 2010
No discrimination, harassment or victimisation in employment or in the provision of care services; duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled residents and staff. Age and disability are central protected characteristics across this industry.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Enforced by LOCAL_FIRE_AUTHORITY
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Fire safety is critical in care homes: residents are frequently unable to self-evacuate, so a 'responsible person' must complete a fire risk assessment addressing dependency, staffing and progressive horizontal evacuation. CQC and fire authorities co-enforce. Devolved variants: Fire (Scotland) Act 2005; Fire and Rescue Services (NI) Order 2006.
Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 — fire safety duties
Enforced by LOCAL_FIRE_AUTHORITY
Fire (Scotland) Act 2005
Scottish equivalent of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Residents are frequently unable to self-evacuate, so the duty holder must carry out a fire risk assessment addressing dependency, staffing and progressive horizontal evacuation; the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service co-enforce.
Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 — fire safety duties
Enforced by LOCAL_FIRE_AUTHORITY
Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006
Northern Ireland equivalent of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Residents are frequently unable to self-evacuate, so the appropriate person must carry out a fire risk assessment addressing dependency, staffing and progressive horizontal evacuation; RQIA and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service co-enforce.