The Law Commission is currently reviewing adult social
care law in England and Wales and we have been working with them,
by providing a formal response to the review, and encouraging
individuals and families to take part in the
consultation.
We held consultation meetings and developed a questionnaire for
individuals and families to give their views on the review.
Following this consultation we submitted a formal response to
the Law Commission, informing them that current law puts excessive
emphasis on the duties of local authorities and other statutory
bodies to carry out restrictive processes instead of stressing
citizens' rights and entitlements.
Just over half of those who responded or attended the meetings
(34 in total) were disabled, family members of someone with a
disability, or a representative from a user-led organisation.
People taking part in the consultation backed our view that the
law needs to change so it:
- is coherent
- is easily understood
- encapsulates rights and responsibilities
- provides a focus on outcomes, not processes
- is actively supportive of the Government's personalisation
policy
As well as this general proposal, people had plenty to say about
the detail, not least about Fair Access to Care (FACS), the system
for deciding whether someone is eligible for a service.
People supported our view that FACS is unhelpful and needs to be
replaced by the kind of resource allocation system that has been
developed by us and tried and tested in many local authorities.
The Law Commission's consultation ended on 1 July. The
Government will bring together the conclusions of the Law
Commission and its own commission of funding of long-term care into
a White Paper in 2011, with a view to introducing legislation in
the second session of this parliament.
Frances Patterson from the Law Commission spoke at our Big Event
in March 2010 about the project.
Our response to the consultation can be downloaded below.
Last Updated : 21 January 2011. Page Author: Laura Bimpson.
