There were cheers all round last week for a number disabled service users from the Isle of Wight, after their legal team were given the go ahead to proceed with a Judicial Review against the Isle of Wight council.
Permission was granted by Deputy High Court Judge Ian Dove QC after deciding that the Claimants have an arguable case against the changes introduced by the council to Adult Social Care Eligibility.
Many users confused and worried
Irwin Mitchell, the law firm acting on behalf of the Claimants explains, “Irwin Mitchell’s public law team are arguing that the Isle of Wight Council’s policy has left many people confused and worried over whether they will be eligible for care. They also have concerns that the move fails to follow government guidance in which it is required to set its eligibility criteria, following lawful consultation, according to four bands: critical; substantial; moderate and low.
“Knows of no other Council which has such a policy”
They go on to day, “The ‘Fair Access to Care Services’ and ‘Prioritising Need’ government guidance provide guidelines for Councils in setting their eligibility criteria for social care. The Isle Of Wight Council, which previously provided care for both substantial and critical needs, now proposes to ‘split’ these bands. Irwin Mitchell knows of no other Council which has such a policy.”
Council intends to defend position
VB got in touch with the council for a reaction to the news. They told VB, “We are disappointed that permission has been granted to challenge our decision as, in making that decision, careful consideration was given to the impact it would have on our service users.
“We will continue to look further at the detail surrounding this challenge, but it is our intention to defend our position which we believe was lawfully taken through the democratic processes.”
Image: Steve Punter under CC BY 2.0
