Disabled Persons Act 1986

The Disabled Persons Act 1986 received royal assent on 8 July 1986. The Act sought to improve services for people with disabilities, by strengthening their voice through making provision for representation and placing additional duties on local authorities.

Section 2 of the Act enabled the appointment of representatives for people with physical and learning disabilities, as well as those with mental illnesses. Representatives would have access to records and information relating to the person concerned and the services they received.

Section 3 of the Act obliged local authorities to assess the needs of people with disabilities and provide relevant services. If a person with disabilities, or their representative, was dissatisfied with their local authority's assessment, they were permitted to make representations to officers.

Section 7 required health authorities and local authorities to cooperate with each other in assessing the needs of people who were due to be discharged from a hospital after receiving care for a mental disorder.

Furthermore, section 8 of the Act obliged local authorities to consider the ability of carers when deciding what care services should be provided to a person with disabilities.