Community Care Dispute Solicitors
A local authority that refuses to meet an assessed care need, unlawfully withdraws care services, or fails to carry out a proper assessment is acting in breach of its statutory duties. A solicitor will hold the authority to account.
Community care law — primarily the Care Act 2014 — imposes significant statutory duties on local authorities to assess the care and support needs of adults and carers, and to provide or commission services that meet those needs where the person lacks the financial or personal resources to provide for them. Local authorities frequently fail in these duties — carrying out inadequate assessments, setting eligibility thresholds that are too high, failing to meet assessed needs, or withdrawing services without proper reassessment. A solicitor will advise on the adult's rights, challenge the authority's decision by complaint, and — where necessary — by judicial review in the High Court.
Community Care — Legal Rights & Challenge Routes
Community care disputes — the decisions most commonly challenged and the legal framework that governs them.
The Care Act 2014 creates specific statutory duties for local authorities — not mere powers. Where those duties are not performed, the adult or their carer has a right to challenge the authority's failure. A solicitor will identify the specific duty and the most effective challenge route.
Care Act 2014 — the duty to assess and meet needs
Under s.9 Care Act 2014, a local authority must carry out a needs assessment of any adult who appears to have care and support needs — regardless of the authority's view of the level of those needs or whether the authority will ultimately fund the care. Under s.18, where an adult has eligible care and support needs and meets the financial threshold (or chooses to self-fund), the authority must meet those needs. Failing to carry out a needs assessment, carrying out an inadequate assessment that understates the person's needs, or failing to provide the care and support required to meet eligible needs is a breach of the Care Act duty. A solicitor will challenge the authority's failure to assess or meet needs — by complaint, ombudsman referral, or judicial review.
Eligibility thresholds — challenging unlawful restriction of access to services
The Care Act specifies a national eligibility threshold — care needs are eligible where they arise from a physical or mental impairment or illness, and where the adult is unable to achieve two or more specified outcomes (maintaining personal hygiene, maintaining a habitable home environment, preparing food and drink, maintaining relationships) as a result of that impairment. Local authorities that set eligibility thresholds higher than the national threshold — by creating additional local criteria or by interpreting the national criteria too narrowly — are acting unlawfully. A solicitor will challenge an eligibility determination that does not correctly apply the national threshold — by requesting a reassessment, complaining to the LGSCO, or pursuing judicial review.
Unlawful withdrawal or reduction of care services
Where an adult is receiving care and support services and the local authority proposes to withdraw or reduce those services, it must first carry out a fresh needs assessment and a review of the care and support plan — not simply impose cuts without reassessment. Withdrawal of care services without proper reassessment is unlawful — and may also engage Article 8 ECHR (the right to respect for private and family life) where the withdrawal has a significant impact on the adult's dignity, autonomy, and quality of life. A solicitor will challenge the withdrawal of services — requiring the authority to carry out a proper reassessment, maintain the current services pending the outcome, and — where the reassessment is inadequate — pursuing judicial review.
Direct payments and personal budgets — challenging inadequate funding
Direct payments are payments made to an eligible adult to enable them to arrange their own care and support services — rather than receiving services arranged by the local authority. A personal budget sets out the amount the local authority considers it needs to spend to meet the adult's eligible care needs. Where the direct payment or personal budget is insufficient to meet the adult's eligible needs — because the local authority has calculated the cost incorrectly, used standard rates that do not reflect the adult's actual support needs, or applied the wrong eligibility criteria — the adult can challenge the adequacy of the payment. A solicitor will advise on the correct personal budget calculation, challenge any inadequate payment, and pursue the complaint or judicial review.
Carer's needs — the duty to assess and support carers
The Care Act 2014 also imposes a duty on local authorities to assess the needs of carers — adults who provide or intend to provide care for another adult. Where the carer has eligible needs (needs that arise from the caring role and that affect the carer's wellbeing), the authority has a duty to meet those needs. Carers' support — practical help, respite care, financial assistance — is frequently inadequate or entirely absent. A solicitor will advise on the carer's rights under the Care Act, challenge any inadequate carer's assessment, and ensure the authority meets its duty to support the carer in a way that enables them to continue caring and maintain their own wellbeing.
Residential care and NHS Continuing Healthcare — funding disputes
Where an adult has care needs that meet the criteria for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), the NHS — not the local authority — is responsible for funding the full cost of the care package. Many adults who are entitled to CHC funding are incorrectly assessed as not eligible — leaving the local authority or the individual to fund care that should be NHS-funded. A solicitor will review the CHC decision, identify whether the assessment process was correctly followed, challenge the eligibility decision, and pursue a retrospective CHC assessment for periods of care that should have been NHS-funded — potentially recovering significant sums for the individual or their estate.