Charging for social care campaign
Mike Jones is a retired Finance Director from the private sector and is the Appointee for his sister, Julie (not her real name), who lives in shared accommodation with three…
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Judicial review of social care charges
Permission given to challenge a council's charging policy – for details click here.
Read moreBarbara Pointon Obituary
An obituary for the great NHS CHC campaigner can be accessed by clicking here.
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NHS Continuing Healthcare & young people: R (JP) v NHS Croydon (2020)
Preliminary note This briefing concerns a recent English judgment. The NHS (Wales) Act 2006 and the NHS Act 2006 (which focuses primarily on England) both create almost identical duties to…
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NHS Continuing Healthcare & young people: R (JP) v NHS Croydon (2020)
The disregard of the law concerning NHS Continuing Healthcare responsibilities by Health Bodies in England and Wales is hardly news. However, where one is confronted by a disabled child with…
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Delay and the ombudsman: how depressing.
In the last few years the Cerebra Legal Entitlements and Problem Solving (LEaP) Project has had to deal with many cases of delay by councils in England and Wales in…
Read moreCarers and the failure of ‘identity’
For a YouTube talk by Luke Clements for the Sustainable Care Seminar Series (15 June 2020) click here.
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Ordinary Residence s117 ~ all change in England (and Wales?).
The English Department of Health and Social Care has changed its mind concerning the determination of a person’s ordinary residence for the purposes of section 117 Mental Health Act 1983…
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Ordinary Residence s117 ~ all change
The Department of Health and Social Care has changed its mind concerning the determination of a person’s ordinary residence for the purposes of section 117 Mental Health Act 1983 –…
Read moreEnglish ombudsmen return
The local government ombudsman and the NHS ombudsman have announced that the will be resuming their complaints work from the 29th June and the 1st July respectively.
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Visual impairment rehabilitation timeframes
Danny Dooney, Legal Rights Officer at the RNIB has provided the following note concerning a recent Ombudsman decision.[1] It found Hammersmith and Fulham LBC was at fault for failing to…
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Coronavirus and direct payments
Interesting update guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care concerning the ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: people receiving direct payments’. My good colleague Steve Brett has flagged up this…
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Urgent care
R (Ali Raja and Ali Hussain) v. Redbridge LBC [2020] EWHC 1456 (Admin). An important case concerning the power in the Care Act 2014 s19(3) that enables a council, in…
Read moreLife in lockdown for siblings of disabled children
A powerful report with some troubling statistics from by Sibs the charity supporting disabled people’s siblings – which can be accessed by clicking here.
Read moreCOVID-19 and unpaid carers
The Welsh Government has published ‘Guidance for unpaid carers: coronavirus (COVID-19) – which can be accessed by clicking here.
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Home care charges – the injustice continues
The severe impact of local authority home care charges is an overlooked injustice faced by large numbers of disabled people in England. The hardship caused by these charges has been…
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The suspension of care home inspections
For an excellent paper by Alison Tarrant and Lydia Hayes concerning the suspension of routine inspections which they argue renders care homes invisible to scrutiny and costs lives – click…
Read moreIn Brief
An interesting article by Amy Clifton for the Welsh Parliament ‘In Brief’ concerning the challenges facing the adult social care sector in Wales as a result of the coronavirus pandemic…
Read moreWebinar ~ 21 May 2020 6pm
Social Work Action Network (SWAN) is hosting a webinar 'Fighting for Social Justice: What's Happening to Human Rights during Covid-19? – for access details click here.
Read moreWebinar ~ Social Services in Wales during Covid-19: New Guidance
A webinar with Joanne Clement and Jonathan Auburn of 11KBW Chambers can be accessed by clicking here - the access password is 8Y@m=+1k. The PowerPoint can be accessed by clicking…
Read moreCoronavirus Act 2020 and the implications for Wales
A webinar with Jonathan Auburn and Joanne Clement of 11KBW Chambers can be accessed by clicking here - the access password is 11KBW2020. Thanks to Jonathan and Joanne for making…
Read moreWG Guidance on vulnerable children & safeguarding
Information about vulnerable children and safeguarding during the coronavirus pandemic – click here.
Read moreCommunity Care Solicitor
"Access Social Care' is looking for a Community Care Solicitor to join their team as their Legal Manager - for details click here. Application deadline extended to 18 May 2020.
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Welsh Government Guidance & Covid-19
Adult services On 30 April 2020 the Welsh Government issued formal guidance – see Adult social services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The guidance emphasises that the modifications permitted by the…
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Magic wands, misdirection and shock
Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine may have its critics – but it is difficult not to think about it, at times like this. Her central argument is that governments use national…
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Undermining children’s safeguarding duties
Major changes to the law concerning the protection of looked after children (among other things) have been brought into effect via the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. Article…
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Social Justice another coronavirus casualty
What do you do if a local authority or NHS body decides to stop processing all complaints – even complaints which relate to matters of life and death or another…
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Coronavirus: WG Guidance for children’s social services
The Welsh Government has issued guidance concerning the role of children’s social services during the emergency. It’s primary focus is on child protection and ‘looked after children’. Welcome is its…
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Coronavirus: Direct Payments & Personal Health Budgets
Some welcome guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care concerning local authority and NHS decisions about permissible use of Direct Payment and Personal Health Budgets during the emergency.…
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Coronavirus update
More Chinese whispers and some guidance concerning disabled children and their families. Chinese whispers first. In a recent post I referred to emails from Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) saying that…
Read moreEqualities Committee Inquiry: Coronavirus emergency.
The UK Parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee is seeking evidence about the different and disproportionate impacts that are resulting from Coronavirus emergency. For details – click here.
Read moreGovernment Covid-19 Action Plan Social Care
On the 15 April the English Government published its COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care. To access this document click here.
Read moreBMJ Editorial ~ social care
For a British Medical Journal Editorial on 'Covid-19: why we need a national health and socialcare service' click here.
Read moreCovid-19 Legal Qs & As
The Challenging Behaviour Foundation has published an excellent and extensive list of Legal Questions & Answers concerning disabled people’s rights during the Coronavirus emergency. Click here to access these.
Read moreCovid-19 court cases
Two recent cases concerning altered visiting arrangements due to the Covid-19 outbreak and disabled people – see BP v Surrey County Council & RP and a (settled) case involving Hertfordshire…
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Chinese whispers, NHS Complaints & Covid-19
It seems that people who have outstanding NHS complaints are getting letters from Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) stating – for example: Due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic NHS England and…
Read moreCoronavirus Act threatens care for disabled people & carers
For a ‘Position Statement’ from the Disability Law Service condemning the Act’s curtailment of social care support rights click here.
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Coronavirus Act threatens care for disabled people
A Position Statement from the Disability Law Service & Professor Luke Clements. Disabled children, disabled adults & carers need special protection in a time of crisis. The last decade of…
Read moreReduced Social Care rights implemented in England
Although the English Government indicated that major reductions to social care rights in would not be triggered until there was an imminent risk of councils failing to fulfil their duties…
Read moreCare Act ‘Easements’
The Coronavirus Act 2020 enables the Government to radically downgrade Care Act 2014 rights for disabled people and carers - the people who are most at risk in this emergency. …
Read moreHas Wales jumped the gun?
The measures in the Coronavirus Act 2020 permitting the downgrading of social care rights have been implemented in Wales – even though it appeared they were only intended to apply…
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Implementing the Coronavirus Act 2020 ~ has Wales jumped the gun?
The Impact Assessment for the Coronavirus Bill published on the 19 March by the Department of Health and Social Care gives the English Government’s reasons for enacting the social care…
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The Coronavirus Act 2020
Updated 15 April 2020 This briefing considers: 1. The main provisions of the Act – this section briefly describes these as they apply to social care in England and Wales;…
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The Coronavirus Act 2020
Updated 1 July 2020. This briefing considers: 1. The main provisions of the Act – this section briefly describes these as they apply to social care in England and Wales…
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Coronavirus Bill Impact assessment.
My good colleague Steve Brett has drawn to my attention the Impact Assessment for the Coronavirus Bill produced by the Department of Health and Social Care. It is an important…
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The Coronavirus Bill and the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939.
When trying to make sense of the Coronavirus Bill – we should keep in mind the dissenting opinion of Lord Atkin in Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 206. It was…
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The Coronavirus Bill: social care & SEN
The text of the Coronavirus Bill has been published. It is the most draconian legislation enacted since the Second World War and suspends a whole raft of legislative duties –…
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The Coronavirus Bill, social care & SEN
The Government has published the Coronavirus Bill. It is the most draconian legislation enacted since the Second World War and suspends a whole raft of legislative duties – not…
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Disabled children, their carers and Coronavirus
During the current emergency we must not allow disabled young people and their carers to be pushed to the back of the health and social care queue. A campaign has…
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Is ‘indignation’ old fashioned?
“Mrs X is a disabled pensioner who lives alone in rented accommodation. She was born with cerebral palsy, has no sight in one eye and has had two strokes. She…
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