Elderly test council care cuts in court
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The right of thousands of elderly and disabled people to contest cuts in community care services was put to the test yesterday in an appeal court challenge against cutbacks imposed after councils ran out of funds, writes Patricia Wynn Davies.
A ruling in favour of the two cash-strapped councils involved in the appeal will give the green light to local authorities to reassess the needs for services throughout England and Wales.
In the linked appeals a pensioner, Michael Barry, represented by Richard Gordon QC and the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (Radar), represented by Cherie Booth QC, claim that Gloucestershire and Lancashire councils respectively broke the law by withdrawing services even though needs of elderly and disabled people had not changed.
The court's decision, expected within a few weeks, is viewed by community care experts as the potential high-water mark of the impact of judicial review in the community care field.
Mr Barry's case was originally brought on behalf of 1,500 other disabled and elderly people who had home help services summarily withdrawn by Gloucestershire in September 1994. The other case concerns Annie Ingham, 88, whose 24- hour home care services were stopped despite an assessment that residential care was damaging her health. She has since died.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments