Law Commission launches adult social law consultation

The Law Commission has published its consultation document on proposals for a single statute for adult social care law to replace the 38 different pieces of legislation that currently govern the area.

Presenting the consultation paper, Frances Patterson QC, the law commissioner leading the project, said that the existing system caused confusion, delay and inconsistency and was time-consuming and expensive to operate. By consolidating legislation into a single statute, the Law Commission estimates that local authorities will save up to £15m in litigation costs and social worker time.

The provisional principles include:

• establishing a core set of overarching principles to guide social care decisions
• introducing a single and explicit duty to assess individuals’ needs
• a duty on local authorities to provide community services for all those eligible
• the introduction of a single duty to assess the needs of any carer, and
• a statutory duty on local authorities to investigate when they suspect that vulnerable adults are being abused or neglected.

The Commission was keen to emphasise that the aim of the new statute was not to impose new statutory duties on local authorities. “We are seeking to bring clarity to the system of social care. We are not seeking to change existing entitlements,” Patterson said.

While the Law Commission is also keen for the process to remain outside the present political debate on the funding of adult social care, Patterson conceded that, although the timing of the consultation was a coincidence, the controversy over the issue may provide the consultation with useful publicity. Unlike most Law Commission projects, the consultation does not contain a draft bill. The commission aims to elicit as wide a range of views as possible, including those of carers and the public, before making its recommendations.

The consultation closes on 1 July 2010, with the following report due in the summer of 2011. Patterson said that she was confident that the final proposals would receive government support, regardless of which party is in power in 2011. “It is an all-party issue,” she said.

For further details on the proposals, please see the Law Commission's Tim Spencer-Lane's article here.

The consultation document can be accessed by clicking here.