Community Care legal aid in England and Wales
Community Care legal aid covers disputes about the social care services a local authority provides to adults with disabilities, mental health needs, or other long-term care needs. Common issues include assessment refusals, inadequate care packages, care home funding decisions, and disputes about ongoing care responsibilities.
Providers on LawStreet
Offices on LawStreet
Postcode areas covered
Showing 70 of 118 Community Care providers from the LAA's directory. Why?
About this category
What is Community Care legal aid?
Who community care legal aid is for
Adults who need social care from their local authority (or their families and carers acting on their behalf) sometimes disagree with the council about what care should be provided. Community Care legal aid is for these disputes: who is entitled to what, who pays, where the person lives, and what kind of support they receive.
The law in this area is mostly the Care Act 2014, which sets out the local authority's duty to assess and meet eligible needs. Community Care legal aid covers cases where the authority has failed to assess, has assessed but found no eligible need (when there clearly is one), has refused to provide adequate support, or has changed support in a way that puts the person at risk.
What's covered
Community Care legal aid is in scope for:
- Care Act assessments: where the local authority has refused to carry out an assessment, or where the assessment is inadequate.
- Care and support plans: challenging a care package that doesn't meet the person's needs, or that has been reduced or changed.
- Care home placements: disputes about where a person should live, whether a care home is suitable, or whether the person can return home.
- Care home funding: disputes about who pays (Continuing Healthcare assessments, charging decisions, deferred payment agreements).
- Carers' assessments: where the carer's own support needs haven't been properly assessed.
- Safeguarding: where there are concerns about abuse or neglect of an adult at risk.
- Children's social care leaving care: where the local authority's support for a care leaver is inadequate.
Many cases proceed by judicial review under the Public Law category, with Community Care legal aid covering the early stages (correspondence, internal complaints, attempting to resolve the matter without going to court).
How to apply
The first step is usually a Care Act assessment or reassessment, which the local authority must carry out within a reasonable time. If the assessment doesn't happen, doesn't reflect the person's needs, or leads to inadequate support, a Community Care legal aid solicitor can intervene.
Most cases start with a letter to the local authority's adult social care department, often combined with a formal complaint. If that doesn't resolve the issue, judicial review may be needed.
Family members, friends, advocates, and care providers can all contact a solicitor on behalf of someone needing community care help, especially where the person themselves lacks capacity or finds it hard to engage with the legal process.
Find a solicitor
Featured Community Care providers
A selection of firms on our platform holding an active Community Care contract. View the full list of Community Care solicitors with legal aid.
Where they are based
Community Care providers by region
Listed Community Care providers grouped by region and postcode area. Counts show distinct providers with at least one office in that area.
East Midlands 9
East of England 7
North East 11
Wales 10
West Midlands 7
Yorkshire and The Humber 25
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Ask for the assessment to be reviewed, requesting a fresh assessment if necessary. If the council still refuses to put in a care package, a Community Care legal aid solicitor can write to the council setting out the legal duties under the Care Act 2014 and, if needed, challenge the decision through the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or by judicial review.
It depends on the person's needs and finances. If the need is primarily a health need rather than a social care need, the NHS may have a duty to pay through Continuing Healthcare. If it's a social care need and the person has savings below the upper threshold (£23,250), the council usually pays. Above the threshold, the person pays themselves until savings reach the lower threshold. Disputes about this often need legal advice.
Yes. The council must carry out a proper reassessment before reducing or changing a care package, and the reduced package must still meet the person's eligible needs. If the cut is happening without a proper reassessment, or the reduced package isn't enough, a Community Care solicitor can intervene quickly.
A statutory assessment the local authority must carry out for any adult who appears to have care and support needs. The assessment looks at the person's day-to-day life, what they can't do without help, and what outcomes they want to achieve. If the assessment finds eligible needs, the council must offer a care and support plan.
Yes. The Care Act gives carers a right to their own assessment, separate from the person being cared for. If the carer's assessment shows the carer has needs the council must meet, the council has to offer support (which can be services, money, or both). Community Care legal aid covers carer assessment disputes too.