Option 2 - Court

You may be able to ask the High Court to decide if what the local authority has done is lawful. This is called ‘judicial review’. You need a solicitor to help you do this.

How to find a solicitor

There are some solicitors who specialise in helping disabled people and their families get the right help from care and support services. It is really important to use a solicitor who has a lot of experience in this area of law. So when you phone a firm of solicitors make sure you ask if they are specialists in community care law.

You can use the legal adviser finder to find a solicitor who specialises in community care and takes cases from your area. See Legal Adviser Finder (Be sure to tick the community care option. Specialists appear with ‘SP’ next to their details.)

You may not be entitled to legal aid and so have to pay for the advice yourself. If so, don’t be shy. Phone around and ask if anyone is able to help you for free or for a fixed fee. Then compare prices.

What will a solicitor do?

They will work out if you have a good case and advise you on the best route to take. They will know about the areas of the law that are relevant and whether they support your case.

Together you may decide it is a good idea to go to court. If so, they may write a letter asking the local authority to change their decision. Usually they ask the local authority to respond within 14 days. But if it is really urgent they might be given seven days or even less. This may result in the local authority making a new agreement with you. If they don’t reply or don’t agree to change their plans, then your solicitor may begin the business of taking them to court.

If you get legal aid, you will generally pay either nothing or an affordable amount even if you lose. Your solicitor will be able to explain in more detail what sum you might be asked to pay.