The new Coronavirus Bill 2020 effectively suspends most local authority social care obligations. The key points as regards adult social care are as follows. Read more »

The Administrative Court has revisited the issue of the denial of social care support to persons subject to immigration control, and the line between local authority social care support under the Care Act 2014, and accommodation and support provided by the Home Office. R (Shehab Aburas) v London Borough of Southwark [2019] EWHC 2754 (Admin) concerned an apparently stateless 58 year old Palestinian who Read more »

In a letter to Parliament, the Minister of State for Care Caroline Dinenage has given the following update on the forthcoming introduction of Liberty Protection Safeguards: Read more »

The appeal to the Supreme Court in Poole Borough Council v GN (2019) UKSC 25, in which Judgment was given on 6 June 2019, was concerned with whether a local authority was liable for what was alleged to have been its negligent failure to exercise its social services functions so as to protect children from harm caused by third parties.  The principal question of law raised was whether a local authority, or its employees, may owe a common law duty of care to children affected by the manner in which the authority exercises, or fails to exercise those functions, and, if so, in what circumstances.

The Claimants sought damages for personal injuries suffered while they were children living in the area of the Council. They maintain that the injuries were suffered as a result of the Council’s negligent failure to exercise its powers under the Children Act 1989 (“the 1989 Act”) so as to protect them from harm at the hands of third parties. Read more »

In response to a Parliamentary question from Caroline Lucas, the Government has confirmed that it has abandoned plans to introduce a cap on the costs of care. The costs cap was the most radical of the reforms introduced with the Care Act 2014. After several years in the long grass, the plan is now in the bin. Instead, we are promised that the social care Green Paper will cover “an element of risk pooling in the system, which will help to protect people from the highest costs”.

Hannah Slarks

Yesterday (16 May 2019) royal assent was given to the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019. This amends the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (“MCA”). The amendments introduce the new Liberty Protection Safeguards. The Act is designed to reduce the strain on the deprivation of liberty safeguards system since Cheshire West.

This blog does not cover the Court of Protection in detail. However, the new regime will loom large for all practitioners in community care.  Always eager to help, the team at 11KBW offers you 11 key things that you need to know about it: Read more »

M, R (on the application of) v The Chief Constable of Sussex Police & Anor [2019] EWHC 975

In the community care context, services providers and public authorities constantly handle information concerning their vulnerable clients. This case – concerning a police force’s sharing of information – is a cautionary tale. Read more »