Luke Clements is the Cerebra Professor of Law at Leeds University.
A 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 moreFor an honest / depressing report on the pressures experienced by carers click here.
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The Welsh Government has finally published its revised Continuing NHS Healthcare Framework Guidance for Adults - giving just over a month for its implementation. Although it published a draft of…
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The 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…
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A 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 moreFor a review by Dr Julie Doughty of this unusual Wales family law case which involved the use of powers under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 click…
Read moreA short talk summarising the 2021 Cerebra / Leeds University research can be accessed by clicking here.
Read moreThe Department of Health has decided to do nothing pending the outcome of the s117 Ordinary Residence Supreme Court ping-pong finals. For its announcement, click here (and for the posting…
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R (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 Payment Systems Regulator has fined 5 companies for cartel behaviour in the prepaid cards market - click here for the story.
Read moreFor a valuable new resource from the LSHTM concerning poverty and disability in low- and middle-income countries click here.
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The 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 moreCouncils allocating £60m pa defending SEN appeals with a success rate of 3.6%. For an excellent / depressing post in Special Needs Jungle click here.
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In 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 moreA briefing by Carers Wales on the annual 'State of Caring report' and can be accessed by clicking here.
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Seven 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 moreADSS 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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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…
Read moreA 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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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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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…
Read moreFor a troubling ‘Parent Carer Blame’ article in the Birmingham Mail click here.
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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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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…
Read moreJohn 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…
Read more“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…
Read moreOskar 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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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…
Read moreFor a troubling article from Carers Wales concerning profound policy changes – click here.
Read moreGuidance 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…
Read moreRevised 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…
Read moreThe 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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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…
Read moreFor details of a Parent and Carer Alliance webinar on the ‘Institutionalising Parent-Carer Blame’ Report click here.
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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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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…
Read moreThe 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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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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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…
Read moreFor an excellent paper by Dr Alison Tarrant in the IWA publication 'The Welsh Agenda' click here.
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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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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…
Read moreFor 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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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…
Read moreFor an interesting analysis of the Norfolk judgment in the ‘Local Government Lawyer’ click here
Read moreThe 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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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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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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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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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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