Personal care

This regulated activity involves supporting people in their homes (or where they're living at the time) with things like washing, bathing or cleaning themselves, getting dressed or going to the toilet.

Types of service that should be registered for this regulated activity

If you plan to provide any of the following types of service then it is highly likely you will need to register for this regulated activity:

• domiciliary care agency (home care)
• extra care housing
• Shared Lives scheme
• supported living

Applications from domiciliary care agencies for the regulated activity of personal care are the most likely to be delayed or refused. If you're making an application, check that you include all the required information.

Shared Lives

If a Shared Lives scheme supports people with personal care needs then it will need to be registered for this regulated activity. The provider of the scheme should register for personal care, not the owners or providers of the individual homes.

Prisons and other custodial establishments

You do not need to register for this regulated activity to provide personal care to people detained in a prison or similar custodial establishment that you run.

If an outside provider such as a domiciliary care agency provides personal care in a prison or other custodial establishment, they will need to register for this regulated activity.

Fostering agencies

A fostering agency that is inspected by Ofsted and provides personal care to children who are placed or being placed does not need to register for this regulated activity.

Care and nursing homes

You will not have to register for this regulated activity to provide a care or nursing home service. You would need to register for 'accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care' instead.

If you are planning to also provide personal care to people in the place they live as well as your care home, you need to register for both this regulated activity and 'accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care'.

Employment or introductory agencies

You should not register if you provide carers in the role of an employment or introductory agency:

• to another organisation who will then be responsible for direct provision of the care, or
• to an individual who will then wholly take responsibility for the provision of their own care under a personal budget or private arrangement

Individuals and related third parties

You should not register if you are a carer employed by an individual or a related third party (without the involvement of an employment agency or employment business) and working wholly under the direction and control of that individual or related third party in order to meet the individual's own personal care requirements. A related third party means:

• an individual with parental responsibility (within the meaning of section 3 of the Children Act 1989) for a child to whom personal care services are to be provided
• an individual with power of attorney or other lawful authority to make arrangements on behalf of the person to whom personal care services are to be provided
• a group of individuals mentioned in either of the above 2 bulleted points making arrangements on behalf of one or more persons to whom personal care services are to be provided
• a trust established for the purpose of providing services to meet the health or social care needs of a named individual