17/11/2011

Mrs Justice Lang, sitting in London, said: ‘The defendant [council's] decision on 8 and 23 February 2011 to adopt new community care eligibility criteria are quashed’.

Lawyer, Alex Rook of Irwin Mitchell, said: ‘This landmark victory sends out a very clear message to all councils in England and Wales. If a council seeks to make cuts to its budget for adult social care, it cannot do so by only meeting certain needs designed to keep someone safe, but neglecting their overall quality of life’.

The judge ruled that a consultation document ‘provided insufficient information’ to enable those consulted on the criteria changes ‘to give intelligent consideration and an intelligent response’. Alex Rook, highlighted that ‘The judgment also makes it very clear that if a thorough and full consultation process is not carried out when considering proposed cuts to services to disabled adults, the courts will quash the policy’.

The first claimant has autism and brain injury from at birth and needs support with all areas of his life throughout the day. The second claimant has autism and a learning difficulty and lives in a residential home and returning home to his mother at weekends.

The Council said there would be no appeal, also that, ‘We will immediately comply with the judge's ruling and return to the previous eligibility threshold whilst we consider our next steps’.

Sources for this article are: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/11/social-care-cuts-unlawful-court