Not just in the Mental Capacity Act: using the law to protect vulnerable adults

Vulnerable adults have recently gained greater protection. A lot of attention has focused on the effect of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, but many significant provisions can be found elsewhere. It may be that those provisions, and the possibilities they introduce, are not fully understood by those who could make the best use of them. That would be unfortunate. Where it enjoys powers for adult protection purposes, a public authority might have to explain any failure to use them, particularly where that failure has unfortunate consequences. This paper does not deal directly with the law on adult social care. Nor even, in general terms, does it describe the law relating to the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. It does, however, discuss some of the more significant adult protection provisions and in the process, refers to the No Secrets guidance, which was published in 2000 and remains the chief resource for adult protection work. (Department of Health & Home Office, 2000).