Rights & choices · England
Taking risks and doing things you choose
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Everyone faces some risks in life.
Support should help you do things that matter to you.
Start with what you want to do.
Explain why it matters to you.
A risk assessment looks at what might go wrong.
It should also look at what could help.
Ask what people are worried about.
Ask how likely it is to happen.
Ask what information they used.
Think about good things the activity could bring.
This might include friendship, enjoyment or independence.
Being stopped can also cause harm.
You might feel lonely, upset or lose confidence.
Ask what support could make the activity possible.
You might need transport, information or a trusted supporter.
A staff shift ending is different from a risk in your activity.
Ask the manager to look at support arrangements.
People should help you make your decision.
An unwise choice does not automatically mean you cannot decide.
A risk assessment does not give staff unlimited control.
Other people’s safety and rights matter too.
Agree who will help and when to check the plan.
Ask whether the plan gives you more choice.
Ask for help if you disagree with the assessment.
You can use the blank page to prepare.
What you can do next
Explain what you want to do.
Ask about benefits, risks and support.
Ask when the decision will be reviewed.
Read about involving you in risk assessments Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- CQC: involving people to manage risks Web page
Balanced, proportionate risk assessment with the person.
- SCIE: risk assessment and enablement Web page
Practitioner guidance on goals, benefits, harmful outcomes and practical support.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Risk assessments that support choice and a full life
Challenge over-cautious decisions and plan support that considers both safety and what matters to you.
Adults aged 18 and over · England
Begin with the person’s goal
Ask what the person wants to do and why it matters. Life involves uncertainty, and removing every risk can also remove relationships, independence and enjoyment. A good assessment helps identify workable support. It should not begin with a decision to prevent the activity and then collect reasons to justify that decision.
Describe the actual risk
Identify what might happen, how likely it is and how serious the harm could be. Use current evidence about this person and situation. A diagnosis, an old incident or a general label such as “vulnerable” is not a complete assessment. Separate known facts from assumptions. Ask whose risk is being assessed: the person’s, someone else’s, or an organisational concern.
Include benefits and the harm of saying no
Consider what participation could bring: friendship, skills, confidence, pleasure and belonging. Also record the consequences of restriction, such as isolation, distress, loss of trust or reduced independence. These effects deserve attention alongside physical safety. An activity does not have to be educational or therapeutic to matter to the person.
Try practical, less restrictive options
Discuss support, information, equipment, transport, timing, a different venue or a trial with a review date. Examples might include an agreed way to contact someone, accessible travel planning or a familiar supporter for a first visit. Choose options with the person. Do not turn a supposedly safer alternative into unnecessary surveillance or compulsory permission-seeking.
Separate risk from staffing and funding
If an outing ends early because a shift changes, ask whether the actual issue is safety, staffing arrangements or a care package that does not meet the person’s needs. Name it honestly. Ask the provider to consider different rotas and the commissioning team to review unmet needs where necessary. A “high risk” label should not conceal an avoidable service problem.
Decision-making and legal authority
The Mental Capacity Act requires support to decide and a decision-specific assessment where capacity is genuinely in question. An unwise choice does not alone establish incapacity. Where a decision must be made for someone under the Act, consider their wishes, participation and best interests. A risk score, duty-of-care statement or family signature is not itself authority to impose a restriction.
Protect people without promising zero risk
Positive risk-taking means considered support, not ignoring danger or abandoning someone to manage alone. Other people’s rights, valid legal restrictions and staff safety also matter. Explain what support can actually be provided and how remaining risks will be managed. If serious danger is immediate, seek appropriate help; do not wait for a routine review.
Review the assessment and the result
Record who agreed the plan, support to be provided, who will act, and when it will be reviewed. Ask whether it increased choice and participation as well as whether incidents occurred. Check restrictions are reduced when no longer needed. If the assessment is repeatedly used to refuse ordinary activities, ask for a senior review, independent advocacy or the complaints process.
Words you could use
“Please review this risk assessment with me. Record what I want, the evidence of harm, the benefits, the effects of saying no, and the less restrictive support we could try.”
More useful links
- CQC: involving people to manage risks Web page
Balanced, proportionate risk assessment with the person.
- SCIE: risk assessment and enablement Web page
Practitioner guidance on goals, benefits, harmful outcomes and practical support.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- CQC: involving people to manage risks Web page
Person-centred, proportionate assessment and review.
- SCIE: risk assessment process Web page
Assessing benefits and harm with the person; supporting chosen risks.
- Care Act 2014, section 1 Web page
Control over daily life, recreation, relationships and keeping restrictions to the minimum necessary.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005, sections 1–4 Web page
Supported decisions, unwise choices, decision-specific capacity and best interests; follow links to sections 2–4.
- CQC: Regulation 9 Web page
Needs, preferences and discussing the balance of risks and benefits.
- CQC: Regulation 10 Web page
Supporting independence while identifying and mitigating risks.
- Care Act 2014, section 27 Web page
Reviewing care and support plans after a reasonable request.
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