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Our team specialises in education, health, social care and welfare matters.
Our combined expertise across Community Care, Court of Protection and Special Educational Needs, means we are uniquely placed to provide comprehensive legal advice relating to the rights of children and adults living with an injury, disability, or illness.
We provide an unrivalled all-age specialist service which helps parents, adults, attorneys, and deputies with challenging unlawful statutory funding decisions and welfare issues nationwide.
Please visit our other website for more information on community care
We are here to help individuals and professionals navigate this complex area of law. We do so by providing niche legal advice on the statutory duties of public bodies to provide care and support to meet the needs of children, young persons and adults living with an injury, disability or illness . In addition, we support navigating the complex welfare issues which frequently arise in the context of care and support. For example, in respect of safeguarding concerns, deprivation of liberty issues and best interest decision-making processes. This may include decisions in respect of care, residence and treatment.
Care and support may be provided in a variety of different settings. This may include rehabilitation in hospital, a package of care at home, care in a residential or supported living placement. Such support may be provided directly (i.e. where the public body commissions and manages the care), or, in a more flexible manner, through a direct payment or personal health budget.
We can support our clients in several ways, to help them secure the statutory support they are entitled to, enabling them to lead as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. Our team is particularly adept at supporting Professional Deputies with navigating statutory funding and welfare issues for those who lack capacity to manage their property and financial affairs in the context of compensation funds.
We are specialists in Court of Protection (COP) work, and so we understand the challenges of managing the financial affairs of those with disabilities or who lack capacity. Our expertise in Community Care, COP Health & Welfare and Special Educational Needs, means we are uniquely placed to provide holistic, pragmatic advice. We join the dots, bringing everything together into one neat package, helping you understand and navigate between overlapping complex legal frameworks.
We understand that professional deputies often need cost-effective, pragmatic advice focused on the issues at hand, with a practical, clear strategy to ensure that P’s best interests remain front and centre in any decision-making process and their needs properly assessed and considered. Subject to the scope of a Deputy’s authority, any restrictions in the Deputyship Order (e.g. Peter’s undertaking or reverse indemnity) and HHJ Hilder’s decision in Re ACC, our expert team is here to help. Our team keeps a careful eye on how the issues at hand sit with the Deputy’s authority throughout our instruction.
Senior Associate – Solicitor,
Our community care solicitors provide individuals and professionals with niche, expert legal advice, in relation to education, health, social care and mental capacity law matters.
We can assist with:
If you are a professional, click here for more information regarding our Services for Professional Deputies, Attorneys and Trustees.
Yes, there is a distinction between Continuing Care for Children and Young Persons (under 18) and NHS Continuing Healthcare (18+).
Continuing Care for Children and Young Persons is required when a child or young person has needs arising from a disability, accident, or illness that cannot be met by existing universal or specialist services. Its non-means tested (i.e. free of charge) and is usually applicable where the child or young person has complex health needs, meaning an additional, targeted package of health support is required. This is a different approach to NHS Continuing Healthcare and usually results in a package of support inclusive of health and social care provision.
By contrast, where an individual’s need for care results primarily from a health condition (i.e. their needs are over and above what social care would ordinarily provide for), the NHS may have a duty to provide that care via NHS Continuing Healthcare funding. If someone is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, legal responsibility for care and support shifts entirely to the relevant NHS body.
NHS Continuing Healthcare is also non-means tested (i.e. free of charge) and as such the individual’s financial circumstances are irrelevant. This means that anyone who is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding should not be asked to pay or to contribute towards the cost of their care. Charging rules apply for social care provision.
Our specialist team can act on behalf of an individual, their family, representative, attorney, or deputy to navigate Continuing Care and NHS Continuing Healthcare funding assessment and appeals processes. We can also assist with NHS funded care commissioning disputes.
Local authorities have duties to assess and provide services or funding to meet the eligible care needs of disabled children, adults, and carers. This is a different approach to care and support provided by the NHS.
Children’s social care and parent carer assessments are conducted in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and associated legislation Adults’ needs and carer assessments are conducted in accordance with the Care Act 2014 regime.
Children’s social care provision is usually non-means tested; however, this is subject to a Local Authority’s discretionary power to charge for services. Adult social care, by contrast, is means-tested. The Care Act charging regulations are complex and depending on the individual’s circumstances, it is necessary to consider whether there are any disregards which can be applied to ensure the individual receives financial support. For example, a mandatory property disregard, or disregard for funds held and administered by a Court of Protection appointed Deputy. Our specialist team helps clients access the support that they need from the local authority whilst navigating the complexities associated with means-testing rules.
The answer is parental responsibility. Decisions regarding the amount of care and support required to meet the needs of a child or young person will take account of parental responsibility.
We may be able to assist with the following issues:
Our special educational needs specialists can also provide advice and support to families of children with special educational needs.
Direct payments and personal health budgets are intended to give people more choice and control over how they receive care and support from local authorities and the NHS.
Once an individual’s needs have been assessed, a calculation is carried out to determine the likely cost of the services required to meet those needs.
The funds can then be paid to the individual in the form of a direct payment or personal health budget, which the individual can use to buy services from local providers. There are certain conditions that apply to the making of direct payments and how they are managed.
NHS care is free of charge regardless of your financial circumstances, and you should not be asked to pay for care provided via NHS Continuing Healthcare funding.
However, local authorities have a duty to charge for the services they provide to those with savings above a particular threshold. You may be asked to pay for some or all of your care, depending on the level of your finances.
The local authority will ordinarily undertake a financial assessment after completing the needs assessment process to determine the level of financial contribution required.
Subject to any restrictions agreed at the point of settlement (sometimes called Peter’s undertakings), funds held in a Personal Injury Trust or administered by a Court of Protection appointed Deputy, should be disregarded during the financial assessment process. This is, however, often a contentious area of law due to notion of double recovery and does require careful consideration of the settlement, trust or deputyship order, ensuring the correct legislative exemptions and case law are cited when seeking the application of the relevant disregard.
There are very strict financial criteria for who might be eligible for government-funded legal aid advice. We do not offer community care advice funded by legal aid and as such if you are eligible for legal aid, you are best placed to make an enquiry with a community care solicitor who holds a community care legal aid franchise. Information about eligibility for legal aid is available on the government website.
For individuals with access to private funding, lay attorneys, deputies, charities and Professional Deputies, we will be happy to discuss funding options and likely costs with you if you decide to proceed.
We charge on a time-spent basis.
We work as a team, with junior team members assisting experienced fee earners where possible to keep costs manageable and proportionate. A bespoke estimate will be provided depending on the issue you are seeking representation in relation to.
According to HHJ Hilder’s decision in Re ACC, it is within the general authority of the Deputy to take preliminary steps, including advice in relation to the merits of statutory funding applications, in respect of the application process itself (including representation to secure appropriate funding) and the merits of challenging or appealing any statutory funding decisions. In addition, the Deputy is expected to draw to the attention of the relevant public bodies any potential deprivation of liberty (DOLS) issue requiring authorisation, or welfare concern (such as safeguarding). If the relevant public body drags its heels in respect of the DOLS or welfare concern, the Deputy must take steps to bring the issues to the Court’s attention seeking directions.
The prior authority of the Court will, however, be required for a Deputy to formally challenge or appeal a decision (e.g. to serve a pre-action letter or lodge a letter of appeal). If the Deputy formally challenges or appeals a decision without prior authority, the Deputy does so at risk as to costs and retrospective authority will need to be sought.
Our team provides Deputies with a free, initial consultation and where required we can provide letters in support of Re ACC applications.
Our team has a wealth of experience in advising individuals and professionals in relation to accessing education, health, social care support and addressing welfare concerns.
We can investigate the relevant legislation and provide advice on whether a needs assessment has sufficiently identified all of an individual’s complex needs, whether the package awarded in sufficient to meet assessed needs and in the case of social care provision, whether charging provisions have been lawfully applied.
We can also provide advice to individuals or professional deputies on how a personal injury compensation award will impact the funding of the care and support package. We are well-versed in supporting claimants and deputies to ensure appropriate support is in place during both the litigation process and post settlement.
Our solicitor was highly professional and supportive, and went the extra mile for our complicated appeal to the SEND Tribunal. We had got to the point where we were struggling to 'see the wood for the trees' and her strategic and detailed legal guidance throughout the process, combined with her impressive attention to detail and tenacity and drive in the hearing happily led to a successful outcome. She was supported by similarly professional and supportive colleagues.
They have the unique ability to run complex cases involving community care issues as well as education and disability law. James Pantling-Skeet is absolutely stellar. One to watch for sure.
"James is compassionate and results based. He helps defuse legal situations and has a gentle and convincing manner...He is very precise, with an eye for detail, and very approachable.”
The help and support we received from James for our son’s EHC plan has been absolutely invaluable. With his help, we were able to secure an outcome that suits our child. James was knowledgeable but at the same time very approachable and made a very stressful process much more manageable.
We were at our wits end when we turned to Boyes Turner for help with our son’s education. We had no clue how to navigate the EHCP process or the SEN education system in general. Lydia guided us through it all, got us the evidence we needed to write our son a watertight EHCP giving him the correct support and finally - after a battle - got him into the right, specialist setting. It was a stressful and difficult process - local authorities know this complex system inside out whereas parents don’t - however having Lydia’s expert help made it feel a lot less stressful than it could otherwise have been. I always felt confident that we were getting the best advice and help out there. We feel that Lydia was really instrumental in getting his life back on track and giving him a chance at a successful future.
Senior Associate – Solicitor
Associate - Solicitor
Paralegal