{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-280",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-280.json",
  "legislation": "nia/2016/18",
  "legislation_title": "Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016",
  "path": "section/280",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "280",
  "heading": "Appointment of approved social workers",
  "text": "(1) In this Act “approved social worker” means a social worker appointed by an HSC trust under this section.\n(2) An HSC trust must appoint a sufficient number of social workers under this section for the purpose of performing the functions conferred on approved social workers by or under this Act.\n(3) An HSC trust may appoint a person under this section only if the person is approved by the trust as having appropriate competence in dealing with people who lack capacity.\n(4) In determining whether to approve a person as having such competence, an HSC trust must have regard to such matters as the Department may direct.\n(5) Any power under this Act to prescribe a description of person includes power to prescribe approved social workers or approved social workers of a particular description.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 280 in operation at 2.12.2019 for specified purposes by S.R. 2019/163, art. 2(4), Sch. Pt. 4 (with art. 3) (as amended by S.R. 2019/190, art. 2)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2016/18/section/280",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:19:54.781348+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}