Legal authority, consent, contacts, documents, households and tracing
These records answer different questions. Keep them separate: recording one never creates another.
| Question | Record | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Who may legally decide for this person? | Legal authority | Aisha Khan holds parental responsibility for Maya. |
| Did someone entitled to agree say yes or no, for this purpose? | Consent | Aisha agreed to routine medical treatment until 1 March 2027. |
| Who may, and who must not, see or contact the person? | Contact arrangement | Mark Khan: Prohibited, under a court order. |
| Where is a paper or electronic document kept? | Document record | Maya's birth certificate: in the office safe. |
| Who does the person live with, or belong with? | Household | The Khan family; Maya and her brother as a sibling group. |
| Are we looking for the person's family? | Tracing case | Searching for Daniel's aunt. |
Being Maya's father does not let Mark Khan consent to anything, and being in a household does not allow contact. Record each fact in its own section.
Legal authority
Where: profile → Legal authority and consent. Who: view care.legal.view; record
care.legal.manage. Order references, courts and scope notes are confidential and need
care.casework.confidential.view.
Record legal authority
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Authority type | Parental responsibility, Legal guardian, Court care order, Emergency protection order, State guardianship, Power of attorney (health), Power of attorney (finance), Deputyship or Self | Parental responsibility |
| Holder (picker) | The person or organisation holding it. For Self, the beneficiary. | Aisha Khan |
| Effective from, Effective to | The dates it applies. Leave "to" empty if open-ended. | 01/03/2026, (empty) |
| Review due | When it should be checked again | 01/03/2027 |
| Order reference | The court or authority reference (confidential) | FD26C00123 |
| Issuing court or authority | Confidential | Family Court at Leeds |
| Issued on | Date of the order | 26/02/2026 |
| Supporting document | A document record for the order, if you have one | Court order FD26C00123 |
| Scope and conditions | Any limits | Shared with the local authority under the care order |
Select Record authority. The table shows Type, Holder, Effective, Review due, Order and Status.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | The start date is in the future |
| Active | In effect today |
| Expired | The end date has passed |
| Revoked | Ended early with a reason |
| Superseded | Replaced by a newer entry |
Change or end it
- Replace: when the authority changes, for example a new court order. Enter the new details and the reason. The old entry becomes Superseded; the history keeps both.
- Revoke: when it ends early, for example an order discharged by the court. Enter the reason.
Rules: an authority of type Self must be held by the beneficiary ("SELF authority must be held by the beneficiary"). If the beneficiary holds it, the type must be Self ("Use SELF when the beneficiary holds the authority"). The holder must be an active Party.
Alerts: the profile warns when an authority expires within 30 days, has expired, or its review is due.
Examples
| Situation | Authority type | Holder |
|---|---|---|
| A parent with full rights | Parental responsibility | the parent |
| The court places a child in care | Court care order | the local authority (organisation) |
| An older person with capacity manages their own affairs | Self | the beneficiary |
| A daughter holds a health power of attorney for her mother | Power of attorney (health) | the daughter |
Consent
Where: profile → Legal authority and consent → Record consent. Who:
care.consent.manage.
The Consent in effect today panel summarises current consents. It also tells you whether the person can be offered for sponsorship (see Sponsorship).
Record a consent decision
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Consent type | Data processing, Data sharing with agencies, Routine medical treatment, Photo use (internal), Photo use (public), Sponsor profile sharing, Outings or Research | Routine medical treatment |
| Decision | Granted or Refused | Granted |
| Given by (capacity) | Self, Parent, Guardian, Court or Attorney | Parent |
| Legal authority | For anything other than Self: the authority under which consent is given. The consent is recorded as given by that authority's holder. | Parental responsibility · Aisha Khan |
| Given on | Date of the decision | 01/03/2026 |
| Expires on | Optional; must be after "Given on" | 01/03/2027 |
| Notes | Optional | Signed form held in office |
Select Record consent.
Which capacity goes with which authority
| Given by (capacity) | Must use an authority of type |
|---|---|
| Self | none. The beneficiary gives it themselves. |
| Parent | Parental responsibility |
| Guardian | Legal guardian or State guardianship |
| Court | Court care order or Emergency protection order |
| Attorney | Power of attorney (health or finance) or Deputyship |
The system refuses a mismatch, for example "Capacity PARENT does not fit authority LEGAL_GUARDIAN". If the authority isn't in effect on the date given, it refuses with "Legal authority is not in effect on …".
If the person is under 18 and you choose Self, the form reminds you: "This person is under 18. Check that they can give this consent themselves." It is a reminder only; follow your policy.
Withdraw consent
Select Withdraw on a granted consent and enter the date and reason. Only a granted consent can be withdrawn, the date cannot be in the future or before the consent was given, and the record stays in history.
Alert: the profile warns when a consent expires within 30 days.
Examples
| Situation | Capacity | Legal authority |
|---|---|---|
| Ruth (82) agrees to photos on the noticeboard | Self | (none) |
| Aisha agrees to Maya's school trip | Parent | Parental responsibility (Aisha) |
| Ruth's daughter, holding health power of attorney, refuses a research study for Ruth | Attorney; Decision Refused | Power of attorney (health) |
Contact arrangements
Where: profile → Contact arrangements. Who: view care.family.view; change
care.family.manage.
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Contact (picker) | The person the arrangement is about | Mark Khan |
| Arrangement | Allowed unsupervised, Allowed supervised, Phone only or Prohibited | Prohibited |
| Source | Care plan, Court order, Guardian instruction or Safeguarding decision | Court order |
| Court order or authority | Required when the source is Court order: the legal authority entry for the order | Court care order FD26C00123 |
| Frequency | Optional | |
| Effective from, Effective to | Dates | 01/03/2026, (empty) |
| Notes | Optional | Non-molestation order; call police if he attends |
Select Save arrangement.
What each arrangement does at the door
When a visitor is recorded under Visits, the system checks the arrangement:
| Arrangement | Recording a visit by this person… |
|---|---|
| Allowed unsupervised | is accepted |
| Allowed supervised | is accepted only if Supervised visit is ticked: "Visits by this visitor must be supervised" |
| Phone only | is refused: "This visitor is allowed phone contact only" |
| Prohibited | is refused, and a draft safeguarding concern is created automatically for the safeguarding lead |
A Prohibited contact also shows as an alert to everyone who can see the profile.
Rules:
- One active arrangement per contact: "An active arrangement already exists for this contact; update or end it instead". Use Edit, or End it and record a new one.
- The contact person can't be changed. End the arrangement and add a new one.
- A court-ordered arrangement must reference the order.
- A person cannot be their own contact.
Document records
Where: profile → Document records. Who: view care.document.view; change
care.document.manage.
There is no upload or download. Record the title and where the original is kept, for example "Office safe, folder K-14" or "Records system ref 55120". Keep the file in your organisation's approved store.
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Name of the document | Birth certificate |
| Category | Identity, Legal, Medical, Education, Assessment, Photo, Correspondence or Other | Identity |
| Classification | Standard, Restricted (the default), Confidential or Special category | Restricted |
| Where it is kept | The storage reference | Office safe, folder K-14 |
| Issued on, Expires on | Optional dates. Expiry must not be before issue. | 05/06/2012 |
| Issuing country (2 letters) | Optional | GB |
| Notes | Optional | |
| Life-story or memory-book item | Tick for photos and letters that belong in the person's life story. Only for Photo, Correspondence or Other. | (for a photo) |
Select Save document.
Who can see each classification:
| Classification | Who can see it | Can't be used for |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Anyone who can see documents | Medical documents ("Medical documents cannot be classified STANDARD") |
| Restricted | Anyone who can see documents | |
| Confidential | care.casework.confidential.view | |
| Special category | care.beneficiary.special.view |
Actions:
- Show location reveals where the document is kept: "Birth certificate is kept at: Office safe, folder K-14 (this view was logged)". Every reveal is logged.
- Archive (with a reason) when the document is no longer current, for example a passport replaced by a new one. An archived document cannot be changed.
- Life story only filters the list to life-story items.
Households
Where: Care → Households; also the profile's Family and tracing section. Who: view
care.family.view; change care.family.manage.
Create a household
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Unique; cannot be changed | KHAN-01 |
| Name | Household name | Khan family |
| Type | Family, Sibling group, Extended family or Care-leaver household | Sibling group |
| Notes | Optional |
Select Create household, then open it.
Add and end members
On the household page: choose the person, then the Role (Head, Spouse, Child, Sibling, Grandparent, Other relative or Non-relative) and Member since, and select Add member. Members need not be beneficiaries: parents and relatives can be ordinary Parties.
To remove someone, select End membership and give the reason, for example "Moved out". The history is kept. A person can only be a current member once ("This Party is already a current member of the household").
When siblings are in one Sibling group household, admitting one of them to a different home from the others shows the warning "1 sibling(s) placed in other facilities". It helps keep brothers and sisters together.
Family tracing
Where: profile → Family and tracing → Open tracing case. Who: view care.family.view;
change care.tracing.manage. Needs the Family tracing feature. Last-known locations, notes,
rationale and follow-up plans are confidential (care.casework.confidential.view).
A tracing case records the search for a person's family, and the decision about whether returning to them is in the person's best interests. Each beneficiary can have one open case at a time.
How a case moves
Use the buttons at the top of the case, such as Move to in progress, Move to located or Close: Unsuccessful.
Work the case
- People sought: select a known Party, or type Name if not a known Party. Add the Relationship (for example Aunt), Last known location (confidential), Last seen and Status (Sought, Located, Verified or Ruled out). Select Save person.
- Tracing actions: record each step. Action is one of Interview, Field visit, Phone call, Agency request, Media or Database match. Also record the Person, Date, Outcome and Notes (confidential). Actions cannot be changed once recorded.
- Reunification assessments: when family is found, record the Family member, Assessed on, Best-interest outcome (Recommended, Recommended with support or Not recommended), Rationale (confidential) and Follow-up plan (confidential).
The latest assessment decides whether reunification may go ahead. Reunification planned, Reunified, and a discharge with reason Reunified family all need it to be Recommended or Recommended with support.
Example: Daniel's aunt
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 3 Apr | Sara opens the case and adds "Grace Mensah, Aunt, last known in Kumasi". Move to in progress. |
| 10 Apr | Action: Agency request to the Red Cross. Outcome: "Request accepted". |
| 2 May | Action: Phone call. Outcome: "Aunt located". Grace's status set to Located; Move to located. |
| 9 May | Identity confirmed by documents: Move to verified. |
| 20 May | Assessment: Recommended with support. Move to reunification planned. |
| 15 Jun | Daniel moves to his aunt: Discharge with reason Reunified family, then Move to reunified. |
Sponsorship
Sponsorship is managed in Charity when the Sponsorship feature is on. Care decides who can be sponsored. A beneficiary is sponsorable only when all of these are true:
- the record is live (not closed, deceased or anonymised);
- it is not Protected;
- it has a current Granted consent of type Sponsor profile sharing;
- it has an alias.
The Consent in effect today panel says, for example: 'the alias profile "Star" can be offered to sponsors', or explains what is missing.
Sponsors only ever see the alias profile, never the real name. If a person stops being sponsorable,
for example when the consent expires, their sponsorship is flagged needs transfer. It is never
ended or paused automatically. A sponsor update with a photo also needs a current Photo use
(public) consent, and must be approved by a different user with care.sponsorship.update.approve.
Nothing is sent to sponsors by the system.