Case Study: Securing a £15,000 per annum increase to a Care at Home Package for a disabled client

How Alice Macnair, Community Care Law solicitor, secured an increased care package worth £15,000 per annum in a challenge to the Local Authority, ensuring that the client could remain at home and avoid moving into residential care against her wishes.

The situation

Jennifer is aged 58 and has long-standing severe mental health issues, meaning she could not be supported in a care home setting. The Local Authority agreed to fund a live-in care package at home, but limited the amount they would pay to the amount that would be charged by a care home. This made care at home unsustainable unless she could pay the shortfall of almost £16,000 per year. The Council also wrongly asked her parents to pay this shortfall.

What Martin Searle Solicitors did

We used Care Act arguments to successfully challenge Social Services who backed down and increased Jennifer’s personal care budget by £292 per week, covering the full cost of her care.

The result

The Council capitulated following our correspondence, accepting that Jennifer had a right to remain at home. They conceded that capping the budget had been unlawful. This gave rise to an annual increase of £15,000 in care funding, promoting Jennifer’s wellbeing and human rights and taking the financial and emotional strain from her parents.

For expert advice on challenging Local Authority decisions on Paying for Care, contact our Community Care Law team on 01273 609911, or email info@ms-solicitors.co.uk.