I wanted to offer some practical insights on how the Court of Protection makes decisions about what is in a person’s (always referred to as P) best interests. Because it sounds simple, but it isn’t. And I’ve spoken to so many professionals and family members who are so clear that they are advocating for P’sContinue reading “How the court decides best interests: part 1 What are my options?”
Tag Archives: Best interests
Tips for statement writing: What lawyers really think when they read a statement
I am going to talk today about witness statements, but a lot of these principles will apply to any formal report that is used to evidence reasoning such as assessments for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, social circumstances reports etc. This is largely aimed at social care professionals, because family members and other ‘lay people’ willContinue reading “Tips for statement writing: What lawyers really think when they read a statement”
Life gets in the way
This is just a quick post to apologise for the lack of activity on here this month. I have a number of different posts half written, but have been struggling to focus and decide what to write about first. My case load is increasing at work, and I’m in the midst of Christmas preparations. AsContinue reading “Life gets in the way”
Much ado about financial deputies
I rarely delve into financial aspects of the MCA, partly because it comes up very rarely in my role, and partly because cases of interest are so infrequent. But I read this on a few weeks ago, and it’s been playing on my mind. The case of Sunil Kambli v Public Guardian and others [2021]Continue reading “Much ado about financial deputies”
I’ve been notified about s21A proceedings, what do I do?
This is a question I get asked a lot, so I will try to talk you through the process as well as I can, both for professionals and family members. If you don’t know what s21A proceedings are, don’t worry, not many people do. They are very specialised proceedings in the Court of Protection broughtContinue reading “I’ve been notified about s21A proceedings, what do I do?”
Social care law in the spotlight: what if Britney Spears’ conservatorship was in the English courts…
I think now is a very interesting time to be an adult social care lawyer (or community care lawyer as it is referred to at my new place of work). We tend to slip by under the radar and it’s certainly not a specialism that attracts attention the way criminal law does, for example. ButContinue reading “Social care law in the spotlight: what if Britney Spears’ conservatorship was in the English courts…”
An example of when locking the door can be a sign of something much more troubling
I spoke before about why steps that family members take with good intentions can actually be a significant issue for social care practitioners to navigate. Shortly afterwards a judgement was published which demonstrated that issue very well for me. And it’s not that every instance of these measures always does turn out to be aContinue reading “An example of when locking the door can be a sign of something much more troubling”
Care Act assessment: part 1 first contact
I was shocked recently to discover how few resources my local authority had been able to access about Care Act assessments. Undertaking this work is so vital to the roles that local authorities fulfill, yet targeted training has, for us at least, been quite difficult to source. So I am sticking my oar in, soContinue reading “Care Act assessment: part 1 first contact”
Supporting hospital discharge: Discharge to Assess part 2
So a while ago, I said I would do another post on the Discharge to Assess operating model, focussing on the detail, after my last post looked at the broad principles. It has taken me some time to do for a few reasons. Firstly, because I am expecting revised guidance as the emergency covid fundingContinue reading “Supporting hospital discharge: Discharge to Assess part 2”
Knowing your chickens from your eggs: distinguishing best interests decisions from public law decisions…
…and why that matters This is an issue that comes up a lot, and I have covered it in any number of training sessions I have led with practitioners and lawyers. So I am hoping that this will be useful to you too. Let’s start with what I mean by these terms. By public lawContinue reading “Knowing your chickens from your eggs: distinguishing best interests decisions from public law decisions…”