The Care Home Services (Visits to and by Care Home Residents) (Scotland) Regulations 2026: Anne's Law - code of practice 31 March 2026
'Anne’s Law’ describes a series of legal acts and regulations that give new duties to care homes to strengthen the rights of people living in adult care homes to see and spend time with people who are important to them. The code of practice explains how these duties should work day-to-day.
Annex C
Writing a care home policy on supporting meaningful connection, and complying with data protection
Services should engage with people experiencing care, their family carers, and staff in order to gather their input and ensure the policy meets everyone’s needs. Services can consider using the Meaningful Connection Self-Evaluation Tool to identify areas which are relevant to include.
While policies will vary depending on the needs of the service, some areas which are likely to be included in an effective meaningful connection policy are:
- a recognition of the importance of meaningful connection with others to people’s health, wellbeing and human rights
- a definition of what meaningful connection is
- a recognition that everyone’s needs and preferences will be different, and how this will be incorporated into personal planning and reflected in day-to-day care
- the Health and Social Care Standards and the expectations these set out
- Duties and expectations under the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (Anne’s Law), including the role of the Essential Care Supporter
- how visiting is supported (normal circumstances)
- how visiting is supported (exceptional circumstances) and how residents and families will be kept up to date when there are any changes to visiting arrangements
- how visitors are made welcome and provided with information to support their visit
- how staff are made aware of the importance of meaningful connection and how to build supportive relationships with people
- how family carers are included as partners in care, including supporting with day-to-day care if this is what people want
- how people are supported to make and keep friendships and connections with peers within the care home
- how people are supported to connect with the wider community, including both going out and “bringing the community in”
- how technology can be used in a person-centred way to support connection and communication
- contact details for the local health protection team who will be primary advisors on outbreak management and measures to be taken to reduce the risk to residents, staff and visitors: Health protection team contacts - General enquiries - Contact us - Public Health Scotland
The policy must also include:
- the process for requesting a review of decision to suspend visiting
- the support that is available to help a requester ask for a review such as advocacy or staff assistance
- how a requester can complain or what further action they can take if they’re not happy with the outcome of a review (including the role of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, where applicable)
- that a complaint can be made to the Care Inspectorate at any time
The policy must be clear, well-publicised and readily available.
Data Protection
The recording of personal information in personal plans should be in compliance with data protection legislation (UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR12 and the Data Protection Act 201813) and follow the care home provider’s data protection policy. To comply with data protection legislation, it is important to only collect essential personal details, for example, name, address, contact details and relationship to the resident. It is important to maintain accuracy, keep personal details up to date and store data securely. It should also be explained to Essential Care Supporters why their data is being collected, the lawful basis for processing, how their data will be used and how long it will be retained. This can be done via a published privacy notice.