Community Care Advice
What do we do? How do we do it?
Community Care - Community Care is concerned with ensuring that disabled adults and children, and their carers, receive services from the local authority to meet their needs and to enable them to live in the community, either in their own homes, or in residential care.
A substantial framework of legally enforceable rights is contained in legislation, national policy guidance and local policies. Surrey Law Centre is committed to ensuring that these rights are met in practice, in the face of local authority budget restrictions, and shortage of public and private care providers.
In particular, our specialist Community Care Law Solicitor provides specialist advice and representation on:
Obtaining community care assessments from the local authority
- Obtaining a decision from the local authority about services they are able to arrange, including: home care, day care, aids and adaptations, housing, temporary and long term residential care, direct payments & vouchers for carers
- Charges for services, including treatment of income and capital, deprivation of capital, which local authority is responsible for out of area placements, free registered nursing care, continuing care, top up payments & deferred payments
- Challenging assessment, service provision or charging decisions, the failure of the local authority to provide services in accordance with an Agreed Care Plan, or delays in providing services
- Complaints about the decision making process or standards of care provided, in the home, or in residential care
Clients who are in need of specialist health and social services and who require assistance with accessing those services are often the least able to help themselves as a result of disability, infirmity, mental health issues, financial resources, etc. Surrey Law Centre works closely with other specialist agencies such as advocacy groups and carer support organizations to ensure that the most vulnerable clients are able to access these essential services. In the vast majority, cases are settled at the pre-action stage, but we are able to take court action where necessary.
Surrey Law Centre is the only legal aid provider in the County, employing community care solicitor and able to take court action on behalf of clients in community care cases
