Page 9 - Community Living Magazine 30-3

SoCIAl CAre lAw

as a legal thinker, with a
mission to develop and
preserve legal literacy
in the sector.

I will provide the frst
level of triage for
the organisation
myself, at frst.
Interested volunteers will be available We will also offer discounted legal for a membership is a wholly
to help elicit salient facts from people advice to any organisations in different thing. I want ‘Collaborating
who are struggling (having signed up, the sector that are not for proft, with CASCAIDr, to uphold legal rights’
online, to undertake this role). or charities themselves, such as to be a badge of pride, one day, for
care and support providers, health and social care businesses.
Advisers with skills and familiarity with or advocacy organisations.
the legislation will then analyse, advise We’ll be offering chargeable Read Belinda’s latest blog on
and prepare draft letters, which will training in the form of webinars and http://SchwehrOnCARE.co.uk/
be checked before transmission to any lectures for universities, charities,
public body. Aspiring advisers can providers and advocates. WHY ACTION IS NEEDED NOW
apply online for this role, for which If something is not done to help
they will be paid a fat rate per task. Where will the money people, now, there is a risk that
come from?
For more complex cases, we have CASCAIDr will be seeking donations reduction in the money supply will
make it impossible for advice
identifed leading barristers with direct from organisations such as care organisations to justify funding the
public access rights, who are interested providers and housing associations acquisition of health and social care
in working for a fat rate per hour and, of course, from members of the legal expertise. It will become
(about the same as they would get on public, and parents’ and user-led uncommercial for them to do so if
legal aid for a judicial review case). or carers’ groups. All donations will they are not getting ‘customers’
CrowdJustice terms and conditions attract GiftAid or be tax deductible through their doors. The only effective
are highly supportive of CASCAIDr’s for corporates, once we have way of holding the state to account
ongoing fnancial viability obtained charitable status. on social care issues is through legal
because any funds not then used on accountability – and that is
the litigation end up with the charity. We are also offering Fee Based alarmingly close to disappearing.
So if the body being challenged Memberships to organisations such as
ultimately settles the case, it will have law frms who wish to develop health CASCAIDr’s launch is likely to be
funded further challenges through and social care public law expertise, sometime in April/May, as it depends
indecision about conceding, earlier on. advocates’ organisations, social and on Charity Commission registration
healthcare providers and support
Is this all going to be free? brokers. In return for their fee, for maximising initial donations.
People will be able to donate by
Not quite! CASCAIDr will offer member organisations will have access text or by the MyDonate.Com site,
affordable advice to people outside the to my Care Act webinar series, a case which automates the addition of 25%
scope of the free legal advice service. law update twice a year, and three GiftAid, if you are a taxpayer.
hours of advice per year. If an
So we’ll provide advice and support, organisation cannot afford membership, I will be emailing and encouraging
on a discounted basis, to individuals it can offer help to CASCAIDr, instead – people to forward my message to as
whose problems are not actually about for example, access to volunteers, many of their contacts as they feel
assessment, eligibility or care planning fundraising or simply spreading the word. able to. Social media will be
and cuts, but who are still people who important too. It would be great if
need ‘hand holding’ before they We hope providers will make people could like, follow or tweet
do end up with a legal problem. donations, because they are about CASCAIDr on Facebook,
Alternatively, people may wish to damaged too by any public body’s Twitter and other platforms.
take a rejected complaint to the lack of respect for the end user’s rights.
ombudsman, Parliamentary If publicly funded service users and Finally, whenever possible I’ll be
Commissioner for Administration, carers are given arbitrarily low writing up the charity’s success
Care Quality Commission or packages, or budgets, then the stories to illustrate the good that can
through the NHS complaints system. businesses that are commissioned and come from knowing a bit of Care Act
Or they may have problems related to paid to provide the inputs, receive less law. In the meantime, we need to stay
charging, safeguarding or some other than they need, and end up struggling. up to date with what’s happening in
aspect of health or social care. the sector. If a council or NHS body
We know that businesses won’t want near you is doing something that
They may beneft from specialist to be seen to pay for legal advice for a we ought to know about,
advocacy or help with complaining service user about how to challenge the please email the details to me at:
about something, even though it’s pubic body making the decisions, but belindaschwehr@cascaidr.com
not illegal. we think making a donation or paying

www.cl-initiatives.co.uk Community Living Vol 30 No 3 | Spring 2017 7