Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, has issued a resolution regulating the work of providers of social services in the emirate of Dubai.
Resolution No 9 of 2015 aims to supervise and regulate social services establishments, including those in special development zones, free zones and Dubai International Financial Centre. The only establishments exempted from the bylaws of the resolution are licensed bodies in International Humanitarian City, Dubai Healthcare City, as well as the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children.
The Resolution defined social services beneficiaries to include senior citizens, people with special needs, victims of domestic violence, juveniles, delinquents, the underprivileged and foundlings.
The resolution also lists the duties and powers of the Community Development Authority (CDA), which include specifying the types of social services that can be provided by establishments, reviewing requests filed by establishments who wish to provide social services, in addition to supervising establishments and looking into complaints filed against them.
The resolution bans any individual or body from providing any type of social service in the emirate, stating they can only do so through an establishment that has received a permit from the CDA. Establishments are forbidden from opening up a branch in the emirate or providing any social service that they have not received a licence for, unless it has received an approval from the CDA.
Establishments that have received permits are obliged to abide by the following: Not providing a service that for which it does not have a permit, providing insurance to its workers, keeping archives that include information related to social service beneficiaries and keeping these records for a period of at least ten years, submitting financial records of donations and grants to Dubai’s CDA, protecting the privacy of their services’ recipients and giving 30 days notice to the CDA prior to the cessation of providing services.
The resolution also stipulates that an establishment’s owner should be over 21 years of age, enjoy full legal capacity, enjoy sound reputation and be capable of fulfilling the establishment’s obligations.
The resolution includes a supplementary appendix that defines the violations and relevant penalties and fines. All social services providers must abide by this resolution and its articles within six months from the date of its validity. The resolution comes into effect from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.
This Resolution annuls any other law or legislation that contradicts any of its articles.
