Modern slavery in social care surging since visa rules eased – The Guardian

‘Modern slavery is surging in social care since ministers relaxed immigration rules to fill thousands of vacancies, with a growing wave of exploitation leading to workers being ripped off or living in squalor.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council told to deduct £11k from outstanding care home fees after delays in carrying out financial assessment – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 9th, 2024 in care homes, elderly, fees, local government, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found fault in the way that Essex County Council carried out a financial assessment and a deferred payment process for an elderly man with dementia.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th January 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council wins Court of Appeal battle over succession to property after mother entered care home – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 2nd, 2023 in appeals, care homes, families, housing, human rights, local government, news by sally

‘Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has defeated an appeal by a resident who claimed she should have been able to succeed to her mother’s council house as – had her mother not had to enter a care home – she would have been resident there with her at the time of her death.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd November 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Abused care home resident secures ‘landmark’ settlement of legal claim – The Independent

‘A vulnerable former care home resident has secured the High Court’s approval of a “landmark” settlement of his legal claim over the abuse he suffered at the hands of staff.’

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The Independent, 1st November 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Maguire, Detention, and Article 2 Inquests – Doughty Street Chambers

‘Maguire [2023] UKSC 20 is the most recent, and highest, authority on the engagement of Article 2 ECHR in inquests. The Supreme Court’s judgment ties together the Maguire and Morahan authorities (both of which had previously reached the Court of Appeal). It runs to 77 pages, with a leading judgment from Lord Sales, and a concurrence from Lord Stephens.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 7th July 2023

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Families sue government for failing to protect care homes from Covid – BBC News

Posted August 25th, 2023 in bereavement, care homes, damages, families, government departments, hospitals, news by sally

‘Thirty families are starting legal action against the government, care homes and several hospitals in England over the deaths of their relatives in the early days of the Covid pandemic.’

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BBC News, 25th August 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ofsted issues warning against placement of vulnerable children in unregistered homes – Local Government Lawyer

‘Ofsted has warned that “too often”, children subject to deprivation of liberty (DoL) orders are placed in illegal unregistered settings without external oversight.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th August 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Children’s Commissioner for England asks for views on adding care experience to list of ‘protected characteristics’ – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 2nd, 2023 in adoption, care homes, children, equality, fostering, local government, news by sally

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, is to ask care-experienced people for their views on whether care experience should be a ‘protected characteristic’ under the Equality Act 2010 – “like age, disability or religion currently are”.

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st August 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The Supreme Court provides authoritative guidance on the application of Article 2 to Coronial investigations and inquests – QMLR

‘The advent of the Human Rights Act 1998, and the incorporation into domestic law of the Article 2 right to life, has transformed coronial investigations and inquests over the last two decades. Lord Bingham’s magisterial creation of the ‘enhanced’ investigation and conclusion in R (Middleton) v West Somerset Coroner [2004] UKHL 10, [2004] 2 AC 182 (later adopted by Parliament) gave coroners greater responsibility to hold the state to account for deaths. That, in turn, has significantly improved the ways in which all inquests are conducted, not just those where Article 2 is found to be engaged. Inquests are no longer haphazard affairs. They are (ordinarily) carefully planned and structured processes; and their participants, the ‘interested persons’, are far more involved in assisting coroners with the task of identifying the proper scope of their investigations and the lawful ambit of their conclusions.’

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QMLR, 18th July 2023

Source: 1corqmlr.com

Court of Protection judge hands down ruling on capacity amid “some unhelpful differences of approach to the diagnosis of Learning Disability amongst healthcare professionals” –

‘A Court of Protection judge has determined that a man lacks capacity to make decisions about where he lives, his care, and his use of the internet and social media.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st August 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Revealed: ‘Monster’ care worker raped elderly dementia patients – but authorities don’t know how many – The Independent

‘Three police officers probed over allegations they failed to investigate initial reports of rape and sexual abuse by care worker.’

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The Independent, 29th July 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

R (on the application of Maguire) v HM Senior Coroner for Blackpool & Fylde and another – Inquests and Inquiries Law Blog

‘In this post, Alex Carington considers the Supreme Court’s decision in an appeal by the family of the Deceased who sought to challenge the Coroner’s decision that Art. 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998 did not require an expanded conclusion having heard all of the evidence at the inquest such that the jury were requested to return a short form conclusion only. The appeal also raised issues about the boundary of the systems duty and operational duty (and the content of both) as well as the boundary between the enhanced procedural obligation on one hand and basic procedural obligation together with the redress procedural obligation on the other.’

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Inquests and Inquiries Law Blog, 18th July 2023

Source: inquestsandinquirieslawblog.com

Bishop’s Castle care home set to close over ongoing safety issues – BBC News

Posted July 19th, 2023 in care homes, health & safety, news by tracey

‘Action is being taken to shut down a care home after inspectors found long-running failures are not being addressed and residents were at risk. An inspection was carried out in June by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at Keegan’s Court Residential Care Home in Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire.’

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BBC News, 18th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Defendant ordered to pay more than £7k in fines and costs over organisational blue badge fraud – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 18th, 2023 in care homes, costs, disabled persons, fines, fraud, news by tracey

‘A man has been convicted of fraud after misusing a blue badge and ordered to pay more than £7,000 in fines and costs following a prosecution by Reading Borough Council.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th July 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New report calls for transformative change to child services – UK Administrative Justice Institute

Posted July 12th, 2023 in benefits, care homes, children, families, human rights, news by sally

‘Creating a social security system that guarantees the essentials in life, regulating for-profit children’s homes, and extending peer-parent support are among a list of recommendations researchers believe could help to eradicate the “toxic culture” of England’s Child Protection Services.’

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UK Administrative Justice Institute, 12th July 2023

Source: ukaji.org

Case Note on the Supreme Court case of R (Maguire) v The Coroner for Blackpool & Fylde [2023] UKSC 20 – 2 Hare Court

‘The long running case of Maguire has finally been concluded in a Supreme Court judgment handed down last week. The bottom line is and remains that the threshold for Article 2 remains high in cases involving health and social care. The case is particularly helpful for its detailed and comprehensive analysis of the authorities and the relevant legal principles in relation to the application of Article 2 and is a must read for those practising in the coronial area.’

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2 Hare Court, 30th June 2023

Source: www.2harecourt.com

Profiting from children subject to state care: Is business involvement a sustainable investment? – Family Law

Posted July 7th, 2023 in care homes, children, human rights, news by tracey

‘Worldwide, private companies and investors are increasingly involved in the delivery of essential public services social and elderly care. In the UK, this manifests prominently in the private children’s home sector. As we highlight in this piece, the care of some of our society’s most vulnerable children, namely those subject to care and, often, accompanying Deprivation of Liberty Orders, has become a lucrative source of revenue for corporations and investors. Yet a growing body of evidence highlights the negative consequences for human rights of this trend.’

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Family Law, 6th July 2023

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

The Supreme Court Provides Authoritative Guidance on the Application of Article 2 to Coronial Investigations and Inquests – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The advent of the Human Rights Act 1998, and the incorporation into domestic law of the Article 2 right to life, has transformed coronial investigations and inquests over the last two decades. Lord Bingham’s magisterial creation of the “enhanced” investigation and conclusion in R (Middleton) v West Somerset Coroner [2004] UKHL 10, [2004] 2 AC 182 (later adopted by Parliament) gave coroners greater responsibility to hold the state to account for deaths. That, in turn, has significantly improved the ways in which all inquests are conducted, not just those where Article 2 is found to be engaged. Inquests are no longer haphazard affairs. They are (ordinarily) carefully planned and structured processes; and their participants, the “interested persons”, are far more involved in assisting coroners with the task of identifying the proper scope of their investigations and the lawful ambit of their conclusions.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th June 2023

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Deprivation of liberty safeguards reform delayed – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Major reform of safeguards covering people detained under the Mental Capacity Act will be a matter for the next government, the current government has revealed.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 22nd June 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Horrendous’ practice of handcuffing children in care must be banned, MPs warn – The Independent

‘A coalition of MPs and peers is calling for the “horrendous” practice of handcuffing children in care during transport to be banned.’

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The Independent, 4th June 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk