Legal costs
For many people, money is the decisive factor when choosing options. Taking this kind of case to court can be very expensive. In a small number of cases the court may order you to pay the local authority’s legal costs if you lose. So the first thing to do is to work out if you can get legal aid. This is the scheme where the government pays most or all of your legal costs for you. They will also pay the local authority’s costs if you lose. People are only eligible for legal aid if they have a low income and very few savings.
Legal help
You need to be eligible for ‘Legal help’ to get free initial advice on what to do. A solicitor can also write a ‘letter before claim’ to your council. This is sometimes enough to get your local authority to provide the service you need.
(If you are complaining on behalf of your child, your income and savings will usually be taken into account when calculating your child’s eligibility for ‘Legal help’. If your child needs full ‘Legal Representation’ where it looks likely that the case will need to go to court, only their income and savings are taken into account. So some parents or carers acting on behalf of a child pay for the initial legal advice but then get free representation if the case carries on.)
If you are eligible for legal aid, it would be sensible to see a solicitor. They will tell you whether or not you have a good case. They can also help you decide whether to take the local authority to court or complain to the Ombudsman.
If you are not eligible for legal aid it is harder to know what to do. Some people pay for advice, but this may not be realistic for many people who have a problem with their support package. The best thing if you cannot afford legal advice is to get advice from one of the organisations listed in Further help.
You may be able to get a solicitor to take your case on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis. Some solicitors are willing to do this if winning would mean the law changes in a way that helps other disabled people. This is often called a ‘test case’. You may need help from an advice or disabled people’s organisation to arrange this.
Some people pay for a solicitor to threaten the local authority with court proceedings. This is because it sometimes results in the local authority backing down. If you are very lucky, you may be able to find a solicitor who will do this for you for free. Others may agree to do it for a set fee. If you want to take this route, see How to find a solicitor.
Whatever you decide to do, don’t delay
Whatever you do, do it as soon as possible. It will be easier for the local authority to change its decision if not much time has gone by. Also there is a three-month time limit for taking cases like this to court. (In very rare cases the court may extend this time limit, but only where it wasn’t possible to take action sooner).
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