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Chapter 6 - Law in Relation to Children and Young People

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2025

Shermin Imran
Affiliation:
Greater Manchester NHS Foundation Trust
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Summary

Clinicians navigating the legislation when working with young people and their families in the United Kingdom (UK) may need to use several relevant frameworks of legislation at the same time. This may appear complex in practice. Clinicians need to consider how a young person’s development across multiple domains, for example, cognitive, emotional, moral, social and so on, can have an impact upon their decision-making. Clinicians who work with children and young people often also work with parents or their local authority statutory equivalents, as well as other statutory and non-statutory agencies, to help find the best outcomes for children and young people (CYP). This requires good knowledge of legal frameworks, competence in working within complex multi-agency systems and being able to understand and work with different perspectives around an issue.This chapter specifically discusses aspects of the law in relation to children and adolescents (all those under 18 years) including the Human Rights Framework, Mental Capacity Act 2005, Children Act 1989 (amended 2004), Mental Health Act (amended 2007), and Criminal Justice Act (2003) within England and Wales. We have not addressed the differences in legislation in Northern Ireland or Scotland but have commented on distinct issues where relevant.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

HM Government, Human Rights Act. HM Government, 1998. Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/contents (accessed 30 August 2024).Google Scholar
HM Government, Mental Capacity Act. HM Government, 2005. Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents (accessed 30 August 2024).Google Scholar
R (L) v Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust [1998] UKHL 24; [1999] AC 458; [1998] 3 All ER 289; [1998] 3 WLR 107; [1998] 2 FLR 550; [1998] 2 FCR 501; [1998] Fam Law. 1998 June 25;592. Available from: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1998/24.html.Google Scholar
Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech AHA [1985] UKHL 7. http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1985/7.html.Google Scholar
HM Government, Mental Health Act. HM Government, 1983 (amended 2007). Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/20/contents (accessed 30 August 2024).Google Scholar
General Medical Council. Confidentiality and Sharing information, Good Medical Practice. General Medical Council, 2024. Available from: https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/professional-standards-for-doctors/protecting-children-and-young-people/confidentiality-and-sharing-information (accessed 10 September 2024).Google Scholar
Department of Health. The Mental Health Code of Practice: 1983. Department of Health, 2015 (updated 2017). Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80a774e5274a2e87dbb0f0/MHA_Code_of_Practice.PDF (accessed 30 August 2024).Google Scholar
HM Government, Children Act. HM Government, 1989. Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents (accessed 30 August 2024).Google Scholar
Ventress, MA, Rix, KJB, Kent, JH. Keeping PACE: Fitness to Be Interviewed by the Police. Adv. Psychiatr. Treat. 2008;14(5):369–81. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.bp.107.004093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branston, G, Norton, H. Youth Defendants in the Crown Court. October 2023. Judicial College, 2023.Google Scholar

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