Factsheets & Template Letters

Our expert Public Law & Human Rights solicitors have prepared a series of documents to help you navigate this tricky area of law and ensure that your and your family’s rights are respected by public bodies and the government.

Our Factsheets provide easy to follow explanations of the law and how you make can make sure that your rights are respected across a variety of situations.

You can use our Template Letters free of charge to make requests, complaints, challenges and appeals to public bodies yourself. Each letter is professionally drafted by our lawyers to the same high standards that we maintain for all of our clients.

If you can’t find a document to help with your specific situation, please call our team on 0800 028 1943 for a free, confidential consultation to see how we could help.

We have documents available for:

• Education
  • Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014
• Environment
• Health & Social Care Law
  • The Care Act
• Human Rights
• Mental Capacity
  • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

Education

Factsheets

• Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (opens in a new window as a PDF)

Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014

Factsheets

The following factsheets have been prepared to provide additional information to parents and young people:

1. Introduction (opens as a PDF)
2. Definitions (opens as a PDF)
3. Duties on Schools (opens as a PDF)
4. EHC needs assessments (opens as a PDF)
5. The EHC plan (opens as a PDF)
6. Health duties (opens as a PDF)
7. Social care assessments and duties for children (opens as a PDF)
8. Social care assessments and duties over 18 (opens as a PDF)
9. Duties to carers and carers assessments (opens as a PDF)
10. The Local Offer (opens as a Word document)
11. Advocacy (opens as a Word document)
12. Consultation (opens as a PDF)
13. Information, advice and support (opens as a PDF)
14. Support for pupils with medical conditions (opens as a PDF)
15. SEN support – early years (opens as a PDF)
16. SEN support – schools (opens as a PDF)
17. SEN support – further education (opens as a PDF)
18. Personal Budgets (opens as a PDF)
19. Direct Payments (opens as a PDF)
20. Annual Reviews and Re-assessments (opens as a PDF)
21. Preparing for adulthood (opens as a PDF)
22. Implementation and transitional agreements (opens as a PDF)
23. Mediation (opens as a PDF)
24. Tribunal appeals (opens as a PDF)
25. Complaints (opens as a PDF)
26. Judicial Review (opens as a PDF)
27. Legal Aid (opens as a PDF)
28. Organisations that can provide specialist support and advice (opens as a PDF)

Template Letters

The following template letters have been prepared to support parents and young people in writing to local authorities. All templates open as a Word document:

1. Requesting an EHC needs assessment
2. Chasing up on the outcome of an assessment request
3. Requesting amendments to a draft plan (including requesting a school or placement)
4. Chasing up on the outcome of a final plan
5. Requesting a personal budget
6. Requesting a direct payment
7. Appealing a decision to refuse direct payments
8. Requesting a social care assessment for a child or young person under 18
9. Requesting a social care assessment for a young person over 18
10. Requesting a carers assessment
11. Requesting information regarding the Local Offer
12. Requesting further information, advice and support
13. Requesting support from an advocate
14. Making a complaint in relation to failure to work together
15. Making a complaint in relation to failure to arrange provision in the EHC plan
16. Chasing up on the outcome of an annual review
17. Chasing up on the progress of issuing an amended statement

Template letters have not been prepared for circumstances where parents or young people wish to challenge a decision or exercise their rights of appeal, as they should seek specialist advice instead.

Environment

Factsheets

• Public Law: Environment, Planning and Local Government (opens as a PDF)

Health & Social Care

Factsheets

• Mental Capacity Act 2005 & Court of Protection (opens as a PDF)
• Discretionary Housing Payments: Your Rights Explained (redirects to a new page in this window)
• NHS Direct Payments (redirects to a new page in this window)
• Acquired Brain Injury And The Mental Capacity Act (redirects to a new page in this window)
• Best Interest Decisions Tool (redirects to a new page in this window)
• Meeting The Challenge: FAQs about the law for people with learning difficulties and their families (redirects to a new page in this window)
• Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy: Yours Rights to NHS Funded Treatment Explained (opens as a PDF)

Template Letters

All letters open as Word documents:

• Continuing Healthcare Appeal
• Formal Complaint – Unlawful Cut to Services
• Formal Complaint Under Council’s Complaints Procedure
• Formal Complaint Under CCG's Complaint's Procedure
• Request To Consider Eligibility For Community Care Support
• Request For NHS Direct Payments
• Appeal Against Refusal To Award NHS Direct Payments
• Challenging A Refusal To Assess Your Disabled Child For Specialist Services

The Care Act

Factsheets

The following factsheets have been prepared to provide additional information relating to the Care Act for adults and their carers. All factsheets open in PDF format:

1. An Introduction to the Care Act 
2. Key Principles of the Care Act
3. Care Plans
4. Carers' Rights
5. Advocacy under the Care Act 2014
6. Needs Assessments under the Care Act
7. Financial Assessments
8. Transition from Childrens to Adult Care Services
9. Safeguarding
10. Eligibility Criteria

Also see our Care Act infographic for more information.

Template Letters

The following template letters have been prepared to support adults and their carers in writing to local authorities. All template letters open as Word documents:

1. Requesting a needs assessment
2. Requesting a needs assessment for an individual lacking capacity
3. Requesting a carer's assessment
4. Requesting a child's needs assessment

Human Rights

• Discretionary Housing Payments Factsheet

Mental Capacity

Factsheets

• Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Court of Protection
• Acquired Brain Injury and the Court of Protection
• Delay in Court of Protection Proceedings

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

Template Letters

We have prepared template letters to be used by people who are concerned that a friend or family member is being deprived of their liberty in a hospital or care home without authorisation. All letters open as a Word document.

• The first letter is to be sent to the manager of the hospital or care home requesting that a DoLS authorisation be put in place.
• The second letter is to be sent to the local authority in the event that no satisfactory response is received to the above letter.
• The third letter is to be sent to the relevant social worker where an individual is deprived of his or her liberty in a placement that is not a registered care home or hospital (for example a 'supported living' placement).