Published 20th July 2021 by

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have launched an inquiry into how older and disabled adults and unpaid carers can challenge local council decisions about social care and support in England and Wales.

They’ve launched a survey to hear from those affected by the issues covered by their inquiry. You can complete their survey to help with their inquiry. The closing date is 15 September 2021.

They want to hear from you

They want hear from older and disabled adults and unpaid adult carers across England and Wales, as well as any friends or family members who want to share information with them.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission also want to gather evidence from:

  • local councils
  • ombuds
  • legal advice and advocacy organisations
  • voluntary sector organisations and other experts

How you can complete the survey

Closing date: 15 September 2021.

What this covers

Local councils make a number of decisions that affect people’s access to social care and support. This includes whether they are entitled to care or support and, if so, how much and what kind of care or support they can access. The Equality and Human Rights Commission want to understand people’s experiences of challenging, or trying to challenge, local council decisions about adult social care or support.

They want to know whether:

  • the existing ways of challenging decisions are effective and accessible
  • people are given enough information about their rights to care and support, and how they can challenge decisions
  • people can access high quality advocacy support to help them challenge decisions
  • local councils and other bodies learn from challenges to improve decision-making in future
  • there are effective systems in place to check that decisions are made well the first time round.

Find out more

To learn more go to www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/inquiries-and-investigations/inquiry-challenging-decisions-about-adult-social-care

Read the terms of reference

Find out more about what types of decisions are relevant to this inquiry and what questions the Equality and Human Rights Commission will explore by reading the terms of reference for the inquiry.

Watch the BSL introduction to this inquiry [YouTube].

Read the Easy Read introduction to this inquiry [1.3MB PDF]