Disabled Persons (Northern Ireland) Act 1989

Appointment of authorised representatives of disabled persons

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• (1) In this Act “authorised representative” , in relation to a disabled person, means a person for the time being appointed by or on behalf of that disabled person (in accordance with regulations made under this section) to act as his authorised representative for the purposes of this Act.

• (2) The Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland (in this Act referred to as “the Department”) may by regulations make provision with respect to the appointment of persons to act as the authorised representatives of disabled persons, including provision—

• (a) for the manner in which the appointment of a person as an authorised representative is to be made; and

• (b) for any such appointment to be notified to a relevant authority.

• (3) Any such regulations—

• (a) may provide for the parent of a disabled person under the age of 16 to appoint himself or some other person as the authorised representative of the disabled person (but shall not permit a person under that age himself to appoint a person as his authorised representative);

• (b) may provide for the appointment of a person as the authorised representative of a disabled person who is a child looked after by a relevant authority to be made by therelevant authority in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations;

• (c) may, in accordance with subsection (4), provide for the appointment of a person as the authorised representative of a disabled person to be made by, or under arrangements made by, a relevant authority in a case where the disabled person appears to the relevant authority to be unable to appoint a person as his authorised representative by reason of any mental or physical incapacity;

• (d) may contain such incidental or supplementary provisions as the Department thinks fit.

• (4) Regulations under paragraph (c) of subsection (3) may make provision—

• (a) for requiring a relevant authority, for the purpose of enabling it to determine whether a disabled person is unable to appoint a person as his authorised representative as mentioned in that paragraph, to obtain the opinion of a registered medical practitioner;

• (b) for authorising a relevant authority, where it determines that a disabled person is so unable, either—

• (i) itself to appoint a person as the disabled person’s authorised representative, or

• (ii) to make with any voluntary organisation, person or persons approved by the relevant authority for the purpose such arrangements as the relevant authority thinks fit for such an appointment to be made by the organisation, person or persons concerned;

• (c) for requiring or authorising a relevant authority, before determining the question specified in paragraph (a), or (as the case may be) before making any appointment of an authorised representative, or any arrangements, in pursuance of paragraph (b), to consult any of the following, namely,—

• (i) a person or persons appointed by the relevant authority for the purpose, or

• (ii) a person or persons falling within any class or description specified in the regulations;

• (d) for requiring a relevant authority, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, to review the case of a disabled person whose authorised representative has been appointed in pursuance of paragraph (b) (whether by the relevant authority or under any arrangements made by it) for the purpose of determining whether he is still unable to appoint a person as his authorised representative as mentioned in subsection (3)(c).

• (5) Subsections (2) to (4) shall apply, with any necessary modifications, in relation to the termination of the appointment of a person as an authorised representative as they apply in relation to the making of such an appointment.

• (6) It is hereby declared that any person exercising under Part II of the Mental Health Order—

• (a) the functions of the nearest relative of a disabled person, or

• (b) the functions of the guardian of a disabled person received into guardianship under that Part,

may, if appointed as such in accordance with this section, also act as that person’s authorised representative.

Rights of authorised representatives of disabled persons

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• (1) A relevant authority shall permit the authorised representative of a disabled person, if requested by the disabled person—

• (a) to act as the representative of the disabled person in connection with the provision of any personal social services for him, or

• (b) to accompany the disabled person (otherwise than as his representative) to any meeting or interview held by or on behalf of the relevant authority in connection with the provision of any such services for him.

• (2) For the purpose of assisting the authorised representative of a disabled person to do any of the things mentioned in subsection (1)(a) and (b) a relevant authority shall, if requested by the disabled person—

• (a) supply to the authorised representative any information, and

• (b) make available for his inspection any documents,

that the disabled person would be entitled to require the relevant authority to supply to him or (as the case may be) to make available for his inspection.

• (3) In relation to a disabled person whose authorised representative has been appointed by virtue of subsection (3) of section 1, subsections (1) and (2) above shall each have effect as follows—

• (a) if the appointment was made by virtue of subsection (3)(a) of that section, the words “the parent of” shall be inserted after the words “if requested by” ; and

• (b) if the appointment was made by virtue of subsection (3)(b) or (c) of that section, the words “if requested by the disabled person” shall be omitted.

• (4) A relevant authority shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1) or (2)—

• (a) to permit an authorised representative to be present at any meeting or interview or part of a meeting or interview, or

• (b) to supply any information to an authorised representative or to make any documents available for the inspection of an authorised representative,

if the relevant authority is satisfied that to do so would be likely to be harmful to the interests of the disabled person by whom or on whose behalf the representative has been appointed; and in determining that matter the relevant authority shall have regard to any wishes expressed by the disabled person.

• (5) Where a disabled person is residing—

• (a) in hospital but not in special accommodation, or

• (b) in residential accommodation provided under section 2(1)(b) of the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 and Article 15 of the 1972 Order, or

• (c) in accommodation provided in accordance with arrangements made by the Department under Article 36 of that Order, or

• (d) in a residential care home or nursing home within the meaning of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003; or

• (e) in accommodation provided by or on behalf of a relevant authority under Part IV of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 or by a voluntary organisation or other person in accordance with arrangements made by a relevant authority under Article 18 of that Order, or

• (f) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (g) at any place specified by a person having the guardianship of the disabled person under Part II of the Mental Health Order, or

• (h) in accommodation provided by any educational establishment,

the disabled person’s authorised representative may at any reasonable time visit him there and interview him in private.

• (6) The Department may, after consulting such bodies as appear to it to be appropriate, provide by order for any of the preceding provisions of this section to have effect (with such modifications as may be prescribed by the order) in relation to the provision by Boards or HSS trusts of such health services as may be specified by the order.

• (7) The Department of Education for Northern Ireland may, after consulting such bodies as appear to it to be appropriate, provide by order for any of subsections (1) to (5) to have effect (with such modifications as may be prescribed by the order) in relation to the provision by the Authority of such services as may be specified by the order.

• (8) The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland may, after consulting such bodies as appear to it to be appropriate, provide by order for any of subsections (1) to (5) to have effect (with such modifications as may be prescribed by the order) in relation to the provision by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and district councils of such services as may be specified by the order.

• (9) An order under subsection (6), (7) or (8) may provide for regulations made under section 1 to have effect for the purposes of the order with such modifications as may be specified, and in that event the reference in subsection (1) of that section to regulations made under that section shall be read as a reference to any such regulations as they have effect in accordance with the order.

Assessment by Boards of needs of disabled persons

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• (1) Where—

• (a) on any assessment carried out by a relevant authority in pursuance of any provision of this Act, or

• (b) on any other occasion,

it falls to the relevant authority to decide whether the needs of a disabled person call for the provision of any personal social services for that person, the relevant authority shall afford an opportunity to the disabled person or his authorised representative to make, within such reasonable period as the relevant authority may allow for the purpose, representations to an officer of the relevant authority as to any needs of the disabled person calling for the provision of any such services for him.

• (2) Where—

• (a) either—

• (i) representations have been made to a relevant authority under subsection (1), or

• (ii) the period mentioned in that subsection has expired without any representations being so made, and

• (b) the relevant authority has reached a decision on the question referred to in that subsection (having taken into account any representations made as mentioned above),

the relevant authority shall, if requested by the disabled person or his authorised representative, supply the person making the request with a written statement complying with subsection (3).

• (3) The written statement referred to in subsection (2) must—

• (a) either specify—

• (i) any needs of the disabled person which in the opinion of the relevant authority call for the provision of any personal social services, and

• (ii) in the case of each such need, the personal social services that it proposes to provide to meet that need,

or state that, in the opinion of the relevant authority, the disabled person has no needs calling for the provision of any such services; and

• (b) give an explanation of the relevant authority’s decision; and

• (c) contain particulars of the right of the disabled person or his authorised representative to make representations with respect to the statement under subsection (5).

• (4) Where the relevant authority does not propose to provide any personal social services to meet a particular need identified in any representations under subsection (1), any statement supplied under subsection (2) must state that fact together with the reasons why the relevant authority does not propose to provide any such services.

• (5) If the disabled person or his authorised representative is dissatisfied with any matter included in the statement supplied under subsection (2), that person may, within such reasonable period as the relevant authority may allow for the purpose, make representations to an officer of the relevant authority with respect to that matter.

• (6) Where any such representations have been made to the relevant authority in accordance with subsection (5), the relevant authority shall—

• (a) consider (or, as the case may be, reconsider) whether any, and (if so) what, personal social services should be provided for the disabled person to meet any need identified in the representations; and

• (b) inform the disabled person or his authorised representative in writing of its decision on that question and its reasons for that decision.

• (7) Where—

• (a) the disabled person or his authorised representative is unable to communicate, or (as the case may be) be communicated with, orally or in writing (or in each of those ways) by reason of any mental or physical incapacity, or

• (b) both of those persons are in that position (whether by reason of the same incapacity or not),

the relevant authority shall provide such services as, in its opinion, are necessary to ensure that any such incapacity does not—

• (i) prevent the relevant authority from discharging its functions under this section in relation to the disabled person, or

• (ii) prevent the making of representations under this section by or on behalf of that person.

• (8) In determining—

• (a) whether it is required to provide any services under subsection (7) to meet any need of the disabled person or his authorised representative, and

• (b) (if so) what those services should be,

the relevant authority shall have regard to any views expressed by either of those persons as to the necessity for any such services or (as appropriate) to any views so expressed as to the services which should be so provided.

• (9) In this section “representations” means representations made orally or in writing (or both).

Services under s. 2 of the 1978 Act: duty to consider needs of disabled persons

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A relevant authority shall, when requested to do so by—

• (a) a disabled person,

• (b) his authorised representative, or

• (c) any person who provides care for him in the circumstances mentioned in section 8,

decide whether the needs of the disabled person call for the provision by the Board of any services in accordance with section 2 of the 1978 Act (provision of welfare services).

Disabled persons leaving special education

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• (1) Where—

• (a) the Authority has made a statement under Article 16 of the Education Order (statement of child’s special educational needs) in respect of a child under the age of 14, and

• (b) the statement is still maintained by the Authority at whichever is the earlier of the following times, namely—

• (i) the time when the Authority institutes the first annual review of the statement following the child’s fourteenth birthday, and

• (ii) any time falling after that birthday when the Authority institutes a re-assessment of his educational needs,

the Authority shall at that time require the appropriate officer to give the Authority his opinion as to whether the child is or is not a disabled person.

• (2) Where—

• (a) the Authority makes any such statement in respect of a child after he has attained the age of 14, or

• (b) the Authority maintains any such statement in respect of a child in whose case the appropriate officer has, in pursuance of subsection (1), given his opinion that the child is not a disabled person, but the Authority has become aware of a significant change in the mental or physical condition of the child giving the Authority reason to believe that he may now be a disabled person,

the Authority shall, at the time of making the statement or (as the case may be) of becoming aware of that change, require the appropriate officer to give the Authority his opinion as to whether the child is or is not a disabled person.

• (3) Where, in pursuance of subsection (1) or (2), an opinion has been given that a child is a disabled person and it subsequently appears to the Authority —

• (a) that the child will cease to receive full-time education at school on a particular date and will not subsequently be receiving full-time education at an institution of further education, or

• (b) that the child will cease to receive full-time education at such an institution on a particular date,

the Authority shall give to the appropriate officer written notification for the purposes of subsection (5) of the date referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); and any such notification shall be given not later than the relevant date and not earlier than four months before that date.

In this subsection “the relevant date” means the date falling 8 months before the date referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) above.

• (4) If at any time it appears to the Authority —

• (a) that a person has on a particular date ceased to receive full-time education as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3) or will cease to do so on a particular date falling less than 8 months after that time, and

• (b) that no notification of that date has been given to the appropriate officer under that subsection with respect to that person, but

• (c) that, had the Authority been aware of his intentions 8 months or more before that date, the Authority would have been required to give notification of that date under that subsection with respect to him,

the Authority shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, give to the appropriate officer written notification for the purposes of subsection (5) of that date.

• (5) When the appropriate officer receives a notification given with respect to any person under subsection (3) or (4), he shall (subject to subsections (6) and (7)) make arrangements for the relevant authority of which he is an officer to carry out an assessment of the needs of that person with respect to the provision by that relevant authority of any personal social services for that person, and any such assessment shall be carried out—

• (a) in the case of a notification under subsection (3), not later than the end of the period of 5 months beginning with the date of receipt of the notification, or

• (b) in the case of a notification under subsection (4), before the date specified in the notification, if reasonably practicable, and in any event not later than the end of the period referred to in paragraph (a) above.

• (6) If—