Community care law update

Assessments

The Court of Appeal’s decision in R (on the application of Ireneschild) v Lambeth London Borough Council [2007] EWCA Civ 234, [2007] All ER (D) 286 (Mar) sends out a strong message that the courts should not be used to resolve disputes about the assessment of community care needs. For local authority lawyers, simply referring to this judgment may well head off a threatened legal challenge to an assessment and ensure that any dispute is ventilated through a more appropriate procedure, namely the statutory social services complaints procedure.

The facts

A climbing accident left Ms I severely physically disabled and largely unable to move without support. She lived in a two-bedroom flat arranged over the first and second floors of a converted house. The flat was not ideal for Ms I because it had a number of internal stairs. She was concerned that, as she aged, her risk of falling on the stairs was increasing. Ms I applied to Lambeth’s housing department