Community care

Community care is a lifeline for thousands of people in the UK. If it lets you down, it can leave you feeling anxious and vulnerable.

Many people find it intimidating to challenge a care decision. It starts with understanding your rights, knowing who to contact, and getting legal help if you can’t manage alone.

Speak to an expert

Understanding your rights

We have lots of documents to help you navigate care, understand the law, and make sure your rights are being respected by public bodies and the government.

Our template letters are professionally drafted by our lawyers – please use them free of charge to make requests, complaints, challenges, or appeals directly to public bodies.

Please note these documents do not constitute legal advice. For advice on your unique situation, call us for a free consultation.

Access our free factsheets and letters

Speak to our specialist

Our team are here to ensure people receive the care, respect, and advocacy they deserve.

Yogi Amin

Partner and National Head of Public Law and Human Rights

Find out more

Meet our experts

Yogi Amin

Partner and National Head of Public Law and Human Rights

Find out more

Getting legal help with community care

Our specialist community care solicitors have decades of experience tackling the legal issues around care services, including the changes to the law under the Care Act. We’ve helped our clients seek justice for a range of legal problems, including:

Withdrawal or reduction of care
Failure to carry out a community care assessment
Failure to provide a suitable level of care after an assessment
Closure of care facilities such as day centres, respite centres, care homes, or transport services.

We understand how sensitive some of these issues can be, especially when you depend on them. If you, a loved one, or someone in your care needs to challenge a community care decision, please get in touch.

Making an enquiry

We have several ways you can contact us, either by completing our online contact form, by phone, or using our live chat. If you start your journey online, here are the first steps to working together.

Complete our online form
We need a few details to understand your situation and the kind of support you need.
We’ll contact you by phone
On the call our experts will ask you a few more questions to make sure we connect you with the right legal advice from our team.
We arrange a full appointment
Your next step is an in-depth appointment with a specialist solicitor to discuss how we could advise you.

Get in touch

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I open a community care case on behalf of someone else?

Yes. Often, the person who needs community care can’t seek advice themselves, either because they are a child, or as a result of their disability. In these situations, a family member, carer, or other suitable person can seek advice on their behalf. In many of our cases, ‘litigation friends’ are appointed to act on behalf of children or adults who don’t have the mental capacity to make decisions themselves.

What Kind Of Funding Is Available For Healthcare And Social Services Cases?

Legal Aid is still available for this area of law. Although Legal Aid is means tested, that means test is usually done in relation to the individual who has the benefit of legal representation.

This means that if you’re the person claiming social services or healthcare, it’ll usually be you who gets means tested. If your income is from state benefits, or if you’re on a low income and don’t have any significant savings, then you’re likely to meet the means test for legal aid.

The income or savings of other family members isn’t usually taken into account. Some of our clients also fund their cases through Legal Expenses Insurance, and most pay nothing for our advice. Whatever your funding method, we will always advise you on how best to fund your case

Can I Open A Case On Behalf Of Someone Else?

Yes. Often the person who needs community care will not be in a position to seek advice, either because they are a child or as a result of their disability. In such situations a family member, carer or other suitable person can seek advice on their behalf. In many of our cases “litigation friends” are appointed to act on behalf of children or adults who do not have the mental capacity to make decisions themselves.

Our commitment to you

Our experts always start by listening, so we understand what matters most from day one.

01
Clear legal guidance
You will always get straightforward, honest advice, with regular updates to keep you clear on the way forward.
02
Specialist knowledge
A wide-ranging team of trusted specialists who understand what it takes to protect your future, your family or your business.
03
Your needs first
Whether you’re navigating complex personal situations or business decisions, we take the time to understand your world and what’s at stake.

What services do our community care solicitors offer?

We can assist or advise you in challenging a community care decision, whether you are a disabled person, or a carer or family member of a disabled child or adult, or an advocate working in the field of community care.

We have also created a range of factsheets and template letters to help you understand the law and to help you both understand the law under the Care Act 2014 and make requests to your council or local authority. Care needs assessment and care plan review This covers a review of the Care Act care needs assessment and care and support plan.

We’ll advise on whether the assessment and care plan are lawful and whether there’s enough evidence to challenge the findings of the care needs assessment. There is a fixed fee for this service, prices can be found here.

Community care legal review and advice meeting We offer a one-hour meeting (via Microsoft Teams or telephone) to discuss your legal options for challenging a local authority’s decision, followed by an email setting out the advice. There is a fixed fee for this service, prices can be found here.