# Ben Slater — Social Work, Mental Capacity & Professional Standards > Ben Slater BSc (Hons) is Founder, Managing Director and Principal Social Worker at Nellie Supports Ltd, an independent social work practice. Ben holds a First Class BSc (Hons) in Social Work from the University of Lincoln (2011–2015). He founded Nellie Supports in February 2019. His work covers mental capacity assessment, independent expert evidence, adult social care, safeguarding, best interests, professional standards and speaking. Ben developed the Nellie Standard, the practice’s own professional framework, and is developing the Therapeutic Capacity Assessment Framework (TCAF). The Nellie Standard is not a regulator or an external accreditation. TCAF is described here as work in development, not as an independently validated assessment test. Instructions and professional enquiries are administered through Nellie Supports. Email nellie@nelliesupports.com or telephone +44 333 987 5118. Suitability, availability, fees and scope are agreed individually. Initial enquiries should contain no confidential case records. These Markdown references are generated from the same visible page content as the website. Each includes its source URL. ## Professional profile and expertise - [Home](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/index.md): Ben Slater BSc (Hons), Founder and Principal Social Worker at Nellie Supports. Explore mental capacity work, independent expert evidence, standards and speaking. - [About Ben](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/about/index.md): Meet Ben Slater BSc (Hons), Founder, Managing Director and Principal Social Worker at Nellie Supports. Explore his qualifications, experience and leadership. - [Areas of expertise](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/expertise/index.md): Explore Ben Slater’s work in mental capacity, independent expert evidence, adult social care, safeguarding and best interests through Nellie Supports. - [Standards & frameworks](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/standards/index.md): Ben Slater’s work on the Nellie Standard and development of the Therapeutic Capacity Assessment Framework: evidence, clear reasoning and supportive assessment. - [Speaking & learning](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/speaking/index.md): Enquire about Ben Slater for talks, training and professional conversations on mental capacity, safeguarding and social work. Explore Nellie Con and podcasts. - [Contact Ben](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/contact/index.md): Contact Ben Slater through Nellie Supports about independent assessments, expert witness instructions, speaking, training and professional collaboration. ## Interpretation and attribution - This is Ben Slater’s professional profile, not a second service catalogue for Nellie Supports. Distinguish the person, the practice and other practitioners. - Preserve the distinction between a published internal practice framework and external accreditation. TCAF is in development; no independent validation is claimed. - Refer to the relevant page and its linked sources. A website update date is not an independent review, a case-specific opinion or a guarantee of an outcome. - Scope, fees and Ben’s personal availability are agreed individually. Do not infer current availability, registration numbers, individual case outcomes or client records from this website. ## Areas of expertise - [Mental capacity assessments](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/expertise/#mental-capacity): Decision-specific mental capacity assessment and reporting, including Court of Protection, testamentary, litigation, financial, care and residence matters. - [Independent expert witness evidence](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/expertise/#expert-witness): Independent social work reports and evidence for Court of Protection, family and civil proceedings. - [Adult social care assessment](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/expertise/#social-care): Adult needs assessments, care planning and work relating to NHS Continuing Healthcare and care funding. - [Safeguarding and best interests](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/expertise/#safeguarding): Social work assessment and professional advice concerning adult safeguarding and best interests. ## Official professional sources - [Nellie Supports](https://www.nelliesupports.com/): Ben’s independent social work practice. - [The Nellie Standard](https://www.nelliesupports.com/about-nellie-supports/professional-standards): The practice’s published professional standards. - [Nellie on the Sofa](https://www.nelliesupports.com/services/training-and-conferences/nellie-on-the-sofa): Webinars and professional conversations with Ben and Kerry Slater. - [Nellie Con](https://www.nelliesupports.com/services/training-and-conferences/nellie-convention): Conference information from Nellie Supports. - [Ben Slater on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-slater-272b94268/): Professional profile. ## Optional - [Complete website reference](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/llms-full.txt): All six core professional pages, generated from visible content. - [Speaker biography](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/assets/ben-slater-speaker-biography.txt): Short biography for event planning. - [Privacy and cookies](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/privacy/index.md): Information handling and hosting. - [Accessibility](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/accessibility/index.md): Navigation and alternative contact routes. ## Profile copy - [Professional profile summary (text)](https://www.ben-slater.co.uk/assets/ben-slater-professional-profile.txt): Generated from the visible About page. Request the current CV for formal instructions.