Archives

ADSS Cymru Report

ADSS Cymru has published the findings of its assessment of the impact of the pandemic on short breaks, respite services and day services – which can be accessed by clicking…

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Parent Carer Blame webinar materials

On 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…

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Parent carer assessment failure in Wales

A BBC news story cites a Care Inspectorate Wales report that has found that almost two-thirds of people who care for disabled children have not been offered an assessment of…

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Disabled Children and their Families – a damning ITV Wales news story

Earlier this year, the Cerebra Legal Entitlements and Problem-solving (LEaP) Project at the University of Leeds published a major report concerning English social care policies and practices that had the…

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Webinar: Wednesday December 8th: 10am

Parent 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…

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Parent too scared to ask for help

For a troubling ‘Parent Carer Blame’ article in the Birmingham Mail click here.

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A High Octane Conflict

A 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…

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‘Autism Plus’ policies

In 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…

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Is there a Welsh Health Law?

John Harrington, Erin Thomas and Barbara Hughes-Moore of the Cardiff School of Law & Politics have written two papers on this topic, one for the UK Constitutional Law Association click…

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Adult Social Care Reform in Wales

“The current legislative framework [in Wales] constructs social care as a ‘last resort’. Rather than maintaining this view of social care as an unwelcome necessity for some, reform should be…

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Oskar Nash Inquest

  Oskar Nash Inquest gross failures; neglect and missed opportunities - if CAMHS had carried out a proper review his death probably  prevented.  For further details click here.  

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Parent carer blame with added stereotyping

On 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…

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Extra demands to be placed on unpaid carers in Wales

For a troubling article from Carers Wales concerning profound policy changes – click here.

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New NHS Continuing Healthcare guidance

Guidance has been issued to explain the resumed process by which NHS CHC assessments & hospital discharge care costs will be undertaken.  Click here for the guidance and click here…

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New NHS Continuing Healthcare Guidance

Revised NHS CHC guidance (and DST) has been published.  We will provide a short overview in due course. For the Guidance / DST click here and for the Ministerial statement…

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New Autism Guidance

The Welsh Government has issued a Code of Practice on the Delivery of Autism Services and accompanying Practice Guidance.  For the Code click here and for the guidance click here.…

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Is there ‘Parent Carer Blame’ in Wales?

A recent report entitled ‘Institutionalising Parent Carer Blame’ has been published by the Cerebra Legal Entitlements and Problem-solving research team at the University of Leeds.  It considers the policies and…

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Webinar

For details of a Parent and Carer Alliance webinar on the ‘Institutionalising Parent-Carer Blame’ Report click here.

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Institutionalising Parent-carer Blame

Disabled 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…

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An expression of righteous anger might sometimes not be amiss?

In 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…

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The impact of Covid on disabled people

The Welsh Government has published an independent report ‘Locked out: liberating disabled people’s lives and rights in Wales beyond COVID-19’ and also published a statement in response to this report. …

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Carers in Wales: new reports.

Two new reports concerning carers in Wales have been published. The first is a Public Health Wales funded publication by researchers at Cardiff University entitled Voices of Carers during the…

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Parent Carer’s Needs Assessments

Some 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…

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Reforming Social Care in Wales

For an excellent paper by Dr Alison Tarrant in the IWA publication 'The Welsh Agenda' click here.

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The enigma of section 16

Dr Alison Tarrant of the School of Law and Politics Cardiff University discusses a unique provision in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. . When the (then) National…

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An unpaid carer’s life: a cri de cœur

The 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…

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Podcast ~ Clustered Injustice

For a podcast of Luke Clements, housing law specialist Spike Mullings, Sue James & Esther Pilger (both of the Legal Action Group)  discussing the new book 'Clustered injustice and the…

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The Health & Social Care Integration White Paper and Carers

John 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…

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Care Act charging

For an interesting analysis of the Norfolk judgment in the ‘Local Government Lawyer’ click here  

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Carers Survey

The Who Cares Campaign has a survey it would like young carers and young adult carers (and service providers that engage with younger carers) to complete – click here  for…

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Carers and the Health and Care Bill

Reaction 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…

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NHS Ombudsman news and a Fast-track decision

The reports of the English Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman are now being published – click here to access the relevant page.  This is good news.  The Local Government and…

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NHS Continuing Health Care and Direct Payments in Wales

Disabled People in Wales of all ages who are eligible for NHS Continuing Health Care and who want to remain living in the community – have been left without a…

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NHS Ombudsman news and a Fast-track decision

The 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…

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Housing adaptations and disabled young people

Foundations – 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…

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The impact of the pandemic on disabled people: so much more than COVID-19

Between 30 March and 1 April 2021 Cardiff University Law School hosted the International Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Conference which, for the first time in its history, was delivered as…

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Section 117 & Ordinary Residence ~ All change yet again

R (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…

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Coronavirus Act 2020 ~ suspension

The Welsh Government has announced that it will - on the 22 March 2021 - suspend the social care provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020: provisions that no local authority…

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Charging, strategic litigation and the Norfolk judgment

  The 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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2021 Newsletter

For a copy of the 2021 Social Care law Newsletter - with updates for England and Wales click here.

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Welsh Government social care announcements

  The Welsh Government has published a White Paper ‘Rebalancing care and support’ which makes proposals to introduce new legislation to improve social care arrangements and strengthen partnership working in…

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Human Rights Act Review – call for evidence

For details of the review click here and for how to submit evidence (by the 3 March 20201 deadline) click here.

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Council to repay £1m care charges?

For a briefing by Winvisble concerning the Norfolk County Council judgment  – click here.

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High Court Social Care Charging judgment

Proceedings taken on behalf of a 24 year old disabled person with Down Syndrome, challenging the way an English council (Norfolk) calculated the charges she had to pay for her…

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NHS Continuing Health Care judgment

This is an interesting and novel case concerning a dispute between an English local authority and an English Health Body - a Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).  Although the equivalent body…

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Women & Equalities Report on the impact of Covid

For the critical report 'Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services'  click here and the Press Release click here.

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NHS Continuing Health Care (CHC) judgment

An interesting and novel case where a local authority brought a private law claim against a Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to recover sums it had paid for the costs of…

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High Court Social Care Charging judgment

Proceedings taken on behalf of a 24 year old disabled person with Down Syndrome, challenging the way the council calculated the charges she had to pay for her social care…

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The 2020 Caroline Gooding Disability Law Lecture

A recording of the 2020 Memorial Lecture by Baroness Jane Campbell can be accessed by clicking here.  Jane Campbell’s website can be accessed by clicking here and includes a powerful…

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Carers Rights Day

Carers Wales has published its annual ‘Track the Act’ report which focusses on the impact of the COVID- 19 restrictions.  A Senedd Research paper on the same topic has also…

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