Right to maintain contact in care settings

In a 2022 report, the Joint Committee on Human Rights suggested that “the availability of meaningful contact with loved ones plays a vital role in the support and care of individuals in care settings.”

Calls for reform

The rights of people in care settings to maintain contact with loved ones came into particular focus during the Covid-19 pandemic when restrictions were placed on visiting.

Following concerns about the pandemic restrictions, several groups, including Rights for Residents, Care Rights UK and John’s Campaign have campaigned for care users to be given a legal right to visitors.

For example, Rights for Residents and Care Rights UK have called on the government to pass legislation (Gloria’s law) giving every care home resident the legal right to unrestricted in-person support from at least one essential care supporter.

In July 2022, the Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report on protecting human rights in care settings. The committee said it did “not believe there are sufficient measures in place to ensure adequate respect for the right to private and family life (Article 8 ECHR) in relation to care users and visiting arrangements in care settings” (para 81). It recommended the government legislate to:

• Give care users the right to nominate one or more people to visit and provide support or care in all circumstances, subject to the same infection prevention and control rules as care staff (para 83).
• Give the Care Quality Commission (CQC) the power to require care settings to inform them of any changes to their visiting status, and to report live data on levels of visiting and restrictions that may be in place. It added that the CQC must “make compliance with visiting restrictions a key consideration when undertaking its regulatory and monitoring roles” (para 84).

Policy development and current position

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, health and social care providers who carry out “regulated activities” in England are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and meet fundamental standards set out in The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Following a consultation, in December 2023 the former Conservative government announced it would amend the 2014 regulations to make facilitating visits a fundamental standard of care. The change was made by The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, and came into force from 6 April 2024.

Under the newly inserted regulation 9A, unless there are exceptional circumstances:

• People whose care involves an overnight stay in a care home, hospital or hospice must be facilitated to receive visitors.
• Care home residents must not be discouraged from taking visits out of the care home.
• People who attend a hospital or hospice for care or treatment which does not require an overnight stay must be enabled to be accompanied by a family member, friend or person to support them.

Further information on the standard is provided in guidance published by the CQC. This explains that under the regulations:

Providers must support people who use their service to receive visits in person from people they want to see, when they want to see them, unless there are exceptional circumstances that prevent this from being possible. Staff should do all they can to make this possible and easy to arrange. This might look different for different people using different types of service, and providers may need to consider different issues depending on their individual situation and environment. This is why individual risk assessments are important.

The CQC cannot prosecute providers for breaching this regulation, but it can take enforcement action where it deems it appropriate.

Since May 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care has published monthly statistics on visiting in care homes. The latest statistics showed that in the week ending 14 May 2025, 99.3% of care homes in England were able to accommodate residents receiving visitors. This figure has been stable since September 2022.

Current government policy

In its general election manifesto the Labour Party said it would “guarantee the rights of those in residential care to be able to see their families” (p101). In February 2025, the Care Minister, Stephen Kinnock, said the government would decide if further action is needed after conducting a review of the new regulation on visiting.

On 28 May 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care published a call for evidence to inform the department’s review of regulation 9A. It explained that the review will consider whether the new regulation has been effective in making sure:

• people staying in a care home, hospital or hospice can receive visits from people they want to see
• people living in a care home are not discouraged from taking visits outside the home
• people attending appointments in a hospital or hospice, that do not require an overnight stay, can be accompanied by a family member, friend or advocate if they want someone with them

The call for evidence closes on 9 July 2025.