'Ouch' Potato

Council’s Social Care Cuts Are Unlawful, High Court Rules Posted: 11 Nov 2011 09:25 AM PST Two severely disabled adults have won a landmark high court battle over cost- cutting by Isle of Wight local authority when a judge ruled that the council’s plans  to reduce its adult social care budget are unlawful. Mrs Justice Lang, sitting in London, said: “The defendant [council's] decision on  8 and 23 February 2011 to adopt new community care eligibility criteria are  quashed.” Lawyers from Irwin Mitchell acting for the two claimants,said the ruling  sent “a very clear message” to all councils in England and Wales seeking to make  similar cuts.  Alex Rooke of Irwin Mitchell said  “If a council seeks to make cuts to  its budget for adult social care, it cannot do so by only meeting certain needs  designed to keep someone safe, but neglecting their overall quality of life.” “The judgment also makes it very clear that if a thorough and full consultation  process is not carried out when considering proposed cuts to services to disabled  adults, the courts will quash the policy.” The judge ruled that the council had failed to comply with its own internal  guidance on its new policy for assessing eligibility for adult social care.  A consultation document “provided insufficient information” to enable those  consulted on the criteria changes “to give intelligent consideration and an  intelligent response”, the judge said. Council chiefs said there would be no appeal,  adding: “We will immediately comply with the judge’s ruling and return to the  previous eligibility threshold whilst we consider our next steps.” They described  the pressure to make “substantial” budget savings while at the same time  protecting the vulnerable. The council said it was facing a reduction of £21m in central government funding,  representing a £33m budget gap taking into account inflation and increased need. It added that 80% of those savings had to be made by the end of 2012-13. The  savings anticipated through changes to the council’s community care eligibility  criteria, plus charging, amounted to £2.5m. In a joint statement, the council leader, David Pugh, and the cabinet member for  adult social care, housing and community safety, Roger Mazillius, said: “We are  naturally disappointed with this decision, having genuinely sought to undertake  a thorough and proper process of consultation. “The Isle of Wight council was required to make substantial budget savings within  a short time frame, while at the same time protecting those who were most  vulnerable and in need of support. We also had to look to the future and position  ourselves to face the demographic and financial challenges that the coming years  will bring.“We will now need to spend time reflecting on the implications for both  service users and the wider council budget before deciding on our next course of  action.“We accept the judge’s decision that we did not provide sufficient  information and that, in our attempts to explain what was a complex decision, we  unintentionally breached some elements of the guidance.” The statement said council staff would be making immediate contact with the 32  service users directly affected by the changes “to offer a reassessment of their  needs”. This is the second major case against cuts to care funding that Irwin  Mitchell have won in the past few months, the first case being against Birmingham  City Council. To see this story in its original format go to the Guardian website with its related links on here -  http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/11/social-care-cuts-unlawful-court