What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
Local authorities could face a “deluge” of disputes and legal challenges as a result of the Government’s reforms in the Draft Care & Support Bill, MPs and peers have warned.
In a report, the Joint Committee on the Draft Care & Support Bill said: “The introduction of a capped cost scheme, which will result in many more people being assessed and entitled to a personal budget, is likely to lead to an increase in disputes and legal challenges.
“We are not confident that ministers have yet fully thought through the implications for local authorities of these changes. In particular we believe that the arrangements for redress and complaints resolution must be reviewed to ensure that they are fit for purpose.”
The report called for independent resolution of disputes over decisions about care and support – “and costs that count towards the cap” – through a Care and Support Tribunal.
The joint committee also called for:
The committee meanwhile warned that restricting support and care to those with the highest levels of need would become “entirely self-defeating, because it shunts costs into acute NHS care and undermines interventions to prevent and postpone the need for formal care and support”.
Paul Burstow MP, chair of the joint committee, said: "We need care and support to be more focused on prevention and more joined up with health and housing. There is much in the government’s draft Bill to welcome; it cuts through a complex web of arcane legislation that people struggle with. But there is room for improvement.
“The government must take stock of its funding for adult care and support and think seriously about whether the transformation we all want to see can truly be delivered without greater resources.”
Burstow added: “There is a growing imperative to join-up services so they fit around people's lives and make the best use of resources. The whole system must shift its emphasis away from crises and towards prevention and early intervention. The draft Bill helps, but we believe it could do more."
A copy of the report can be viewed here.