The Law Commission has published its final report on disabled children’s social care, which can be downloaded here.

The aim of the report is “to simplify and strengthen the law, ensuring that the system is fair and works for children, parents and other care givers, and local authorities.” The Law Commission has reviewed the support, services and the legal framework for disabled children in England. It has focused on the provision of support and services in family-based care, and excludes children accommodated securely and those deprived of their liberty. Perhaps most importantly, the Law Commission has said that remedies – how to resolve disputes – are inherently political decisions and has made no specific recommendations in this area.

The Government will now consider the report. It is under no obligation to implement any of the recommendations but, generally speaking, Law Commission recommendations do find their way into law to a certain extent.

The Government must provide an initial response as soon as possible, but no later than six months after publication, and must give a final response as soon as possible but within a year of publication.

For more information about how a Law Commission report is implemented, see here.

We will be looking carefully at the report and will provide a detailed response shortly.