24/02/2010 – Law Commission says current law and duties on social care are ‘confusing’
The Law Commission says the current social care system provided by councils in England and Wales needs simplifying. The LC which advises Government on law reform today proposed the most radical shake-up of adult social care for more than 60 years.
Adult social care provides essential services such as community care, residential care homes, and protection for the most vulnerable adults in society: the elderly, disabled people and their carers.
The body cited a mass of policy guidance governing the system and too many laws. Rules are currently spread across 38 separate Acts of Parliament and most services are still delivered under an Act of 1948.
Reform proposals include clearer rights for the estimated six million carers who give up their time to look after disabled and elderly friends and relatives. The LC wants a streamlined series of duties covering issues such as investigations, assessments and decision-making. The LC’s review has nothing to do with funding instead looking at how councils run social care and operate their services.
The Law Commission suggests a single, modern and clear statute to replace the current legal framework. Provisional proposals include:
• devising a set of overarching principles to guide social care decisions;
• introducing a single and explicit duty to assess individuals’ needs;
• a duty on local authorities to provide community services for all those eligible;
• the introduction of a single duty to assess the needs of any carer;
• a statutory duty on local authorities to investigate when they suspect that vulnerable adults are being abused or neglected.
The most controversial proposal put forward by the government is the introduction of a compulsory charge of up to £20,000 on people at their death to pay for social care in England.
The Commission’s provisional proposals, questions and arguments for reform are set out in Adult Social Care (Law Commission Consultation paper No 192). A summary is also available. The consultation closes on 1 July 2010.
Visit the Law Commission website at www.lawcom.gov.uk