
Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) research report
FII is a term adopted by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – in essence – to replace what was previously referred to as ‘Munchausen syndrome by proxy’.…
Read moreLuke Clements is the Cerebra Professor of Law at Leeds University.
FII is a term adopted by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – in essence – to replace what was previously referred to as ‘Munchausen syndrome by proxy’.…
Read moreCan local authorities refuse to fund a home care package if it is cheaper for the person’s needs to be met in a care home? Where there is more than…
Read moreSo, what was that all about? For some strange reason in 2020 the Department of Health and Social Care changed its mind concerning the determination of a person’s ordinary residence…
Read moreAn earlier posting[1] considered an important local government ombudsman decision. The decision confirmed that: (1) parents of disabled children have a right to opt for a direct payment even if…
Read moreGuidance developed by independent Parent Carer Groups and individual parent carers will be launched at a webinar on the 12 July 2023 10:30am – 12:30pm. The document describes what they…
Read moreThe Department for Education (DfE) has opened a consultation on its proposal to update the 2018 ‘Working Together’ guidance. It has summarised the overall aim of the update as a…
Read moreA local authority accepted that a disabled person had eligible needs for support to develop and maintain personal relationships, and provided funding for him to attend a social and life…
Read morePANS and PANDAS are severe childhood impairments with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive behaviours, tics or eating restrictions that develop suddenly: conditions that can be accompanied by changes in normal behaviours, personality…
Read moreThere is an extensive body of English and Welsh law that requires local authorities to provide school / college transport for disabled young people.[1] What is often forgotten, however, is…
Read moreFlicking though the current (March 2023) batch of Local Government Ombudsman’s Children and Education complaints decisions is like re-watching Groundhog Days. More than half of the complaints were not, for…
Read moreParent Blame is not simply a problem encountered by families when dealing with Children’s Services. It is, therefore, very welcome that West Midlands ADASS (the Association of Directors of Adult…
Read moreA report published by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory highlights the ‘extreme vulnerability’ of children who are the subject of High Court applications that seek to deprive them of their…
Read moreA provocative New Year posting from my good colleague Rachel Adam-Smith. . _______________ I love my dog. He’s non-verbal. I love…
Read moreJohn Bangs OBE[1] reflects on the recent UN carers rights decision and its implications in relation to the duties of local health and social care authorities to provide a sufficiency…
Read moreAn interesting complaint concerning (among other things[1]) a prolonged and significant loss of respite care for a young person transitioning into adult services. Due to challenges resulting from his impairment,…
Read moreThe UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has handed down an important decision concerning the rights of unpaid carers in the case of Maria Simona Bellini v.…
Read moreWhat would ‘fit for purpose’ disabled children’s assessment guidance look like? At the School of Law, the University of Leeds, this is what we hope to be researching in the…
Read moreThe Health Service Ombudsman has published an important CHC report concerning the failure of an NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - now known as an Integrated Care Board (ICB). The…
Read moreThe current political farce / tragedy has meant that a shaming report[1] concerning the institutional abuse of disabled young people has failed to attract the attention it deserves. The report…
Read moreThe Kirkup Report[1] – published earlier this week – identified the scandalous treatment of mothers in maternity and neonatal services in East Kent. It uses the words ‘blame’ / ‘blaming’…
Read moreA parent refused to sign a council’s safety plan (relating to support for her disabled son) because it implied that she had on one occasion refused to allow workers…
Read moreWhat can be done when a disabled person’s or a carer’s assessed social care needs are not being met – either because no care and support is available or because…
Read moreIn ‘Clustered Injustice’ I refer to one of the key insights gained from working on the Cerebra research programme with disabled children and their families. It may be obvious to…
Read moreThe disabled children’s charity Cerebra is concerned about reports from families with disabled children which suggest that a significant number have been accused by practitioners of creating or exaggerating their…
Read moreThe Department of Health and Social Care has published a revised NHS Continuing Healthcare Framework – a copy of which can be accessed by clicking here. A handout of a…
Read moreAllegations by professionals that families are guilty of FII (Fabricated or Induced Illness) appear to be proliferating as do training programmes that seek to alert social care and health professionals…
Read moreCouncils do not have to charge for care and support services under the Care Act 2014, but if they do the Statutory Guidance states (para 8.2) that in determining…
Read moreAn earlier posting referred to Baroness Pitkeathley’s amendment to the Health and Care Bill which – although opposed by the Government – was passed in the House of Lords by…
Read moreA parent complained that a local authority commissioned ‘Early Help’ service (for ‘short break’ sessions) was unsuitable for her son. She complained that the Council had offered no alternative and…
Read moreThe Health and Care Bill currently going through Parliament repeals the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 and with it, the duty on NHS trusts to ensure that…
Read moreA further report by Richard Travers, the Senior Coroner for Surrey has been published concerning the death of Oskar Miles Nash. The report focuses on action that is necessary to…
Read moreR (RG) v Suffolk County Council[1]. On one level this case concerns the extent to which a council’s ability to promote an individual’s well-being (under section 1 Care Act 2014)…
Read moreThe guest post you are about to read from a good colleague considers one of the greatest issues confronting the care system in the UK – namely the need for…
Read moreIn a nutshell – and congratulations if you understand this: The Court of Appeal has reversed a High Court decision that reversed a decision of the Department of Health and…
Read moreSeven years after he was adopted (as an infant) a child was diagnosed as having an alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, autism and ADHD. His adoptive mother made multiple requests to the…
Read moreOn the 8th December 2021 Cerebra hosted a webinar that provided an overview of the 2021 Cerebra Legal Entitlements and Problem-Solving (LEaP) research report. The report describes how local authority…
Read moreParent Carer Blame: bringing about meaningful change. A 90 minute, free webinar that provides: (1) an overview of 2021 Research report that describes how local authority policies create a culture…
Read moreA very welcome judgment of the High Court concerning a ‘high octane conflict’ between the parents of a profoundly disabled 12 year old boy and the professionals involved in his…
Read moreIn 2020 the Cerebra Legal Entitlements and Problem-solving (LEaP) programme together with the Disability Law Service published research ( generally referred to as the 'Autism Plus Report') which highlighted the…
Read moreOn the 2nd September BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour[1] featured the recent Cerebra research report ‘Institutionalising Parent Carer Blame’.[2] The programme included compelling accounts from parents of disabled children who…
Read moreDisabled children and their families are one of the most severely disadvantaged groups in the UK. A major research report published today (21 July 2021) finds that most English Children’s…
Read moreIn 2019 the ombudsman published a report[1] which criticised a council for its decision to (among other things) reduce a disabled person’s care and support plan without a proper assessment…
Read moreSome local authorities appear to think that they have no duty to provide support for a family as a result of a Parent Carer’s Needs Assessments (PCNA) – with statements…
Read moreThe guest post you are about to read from a good colleague builds on an earlier posting which also concerns an incredibly troubling account of the health system’s approach to…
Read moreJohn Bangs OBE and Luke Clements[1] . The Health and Care Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech is intended to provide the basis for closer health and social care integration…
Read moreReaction to the White Paper on NHS reform has been lukewarm with many key players pointing out that restructuring an endlessly restructured NHS will not in itself address its critical…
Read moreThe reports of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman are now being published – click here to access the relevant page. This is good news. The Local Government and Social…
Read moreFoundations – the National Body for Home Improvement Agencies in England has published an excellent Guide to Adaptations for Children and Young People with Behaviours that Challenge. The 45-page guide…
Read moreR (Worcestershire CC) v Department of Health and Social Care and Swindon Borough Council [2021] EWHC 682 (Admin). Put simply – put very simply – the High Court has decided…
Read moreThe Local Government Association (LGA) has published a copy of a letter sent by the Centre for Adult Social Care Advice, Information and Dispute Resolution (CASCAIDr) to all English…
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