It’s often said in court of protection proceedings that the court ought not to micromanage a care package. That is certainly true but the court does need to properly scrutinise a care package to ensure that it is in P’s best interests. There is a balance to be struck and today I’m going to talkContinue reading “Micro-management or proper scrutiny: finding the balance”
Tag Archives: human rights
An urgent move during Court of Protection proceedings: a how (not) to guide
It is inevitable that sometimes in Court of Protection proceedings, there will be times when a move needs to take place urgently. There are any number of reasons why this might happen: arrangements in the community breakdown, safeguarding issues happen, risks increase and sometimes, a really good placement comes up which will be lost toContinue reading “An urgent move during Court of Protection proceedings: a how (not) to guide”
Human Rights Act reforms consultation
I have been putting off writing about this, and indeed putting off even reading the consultation because I knew it was going to make me angry. But I read it last week, as the window for response was closing and has now closed. And guess what? It made me angry My irritation started early inContinue reading “Human Rights Act reforms consultation”
Reflections on my first in person client visit
I am aware that most of you reading this will be social care practitioners in one capacity or the other, so you will probably read this and chuckle. But I imagine how I felt during my first client visit is a lot like how non-lawyers feel the first time they are asked to come toContinue reading “Reflections on my first in person client visit”
“Authorisation …would serve only to protect the local authority from acting unlawfully”
I was reading through the many case updates that arrived in my inbox the other morning and one really stood out to me: the case of Nottinghamshire v LH [2021] EWHC 2584. It is a judgement of the High Court under its inherent jurisdiction, and it relates to a child. So it wouldn’t normally catchContinue reading ““Authorisation …would serve only to protect the local authority from acting unlawfully””
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”
Maybe if I just lock the door…
…and other solutions that seem like common sense, but can actually create complex issues. I get these a lot, when a practitioner is doing a routine call and and a family member mentions something they are doing to support their family member. It seems perfectly sensible to them, but it raises a red flag inContinue reading “Maybe if I just lock the door…”
DP v Hillingdon and the issue that may or may not be
If you practice in this area of law, or work with people who do, you’ll have heard of this case, because it has set a lot of hares running in a number of cases. If you don’t, then you might not have given this case much thought unless your local authority legal team sends bulletinsContinue reading “DP v Hillingdon and the issue that may or may not be”