Pamela Mclean took over the care of her nephew in 1999 when he was a few months old. Kirklees Council asked her to take over the day to day care for him. Her nephew, now aged 11, is disabled with a condition known as Noonan’s Syndrome which has similar affects as Down’s Syndrome. The council requested that she took out a Residence Order, which she did. Once the Residence Order was granted the council did not provide any further help or assistance.

Caring for her nephew was a demanding role and after seeing an article in the local newspaper and speaking to the Family Rights Group Pamela approached Kirklees Council to see if they could receive any support in the care of their nephew. After the council told them that help was not available in April 2009 they asked Ridley & Hall Solicitors to help them get support.

After a lengthy exchange of letters between Ridley and Hall and Kirklees Council legal department Pamela was awarded a Residence Order Allowance of £90.00 per week in December 2009.

Recently, she received a lump sum which covered the amount of allowance they would have been paid if the Residence Order Allowance had been paid at the time the Residence Order was granted, 1999, which totalled £31,973.45.

Rebecca Chapman, Trainee Solicitor at Ridley and Hall stated “I was delighted to find out that Pamela had been awarded back pay but was disappointed that support was so difficult to access and that Pamela had to wait so long for the financial assistance she required. “

Pamela said about Ridley and Hall:

“We are so grateful to both yourself [Rebecca Chapman] and Ridley and Hall and are willing to do anything we can do to highlight your good work in helping the families of kinship carers. We are well aware that without the help from professionals such as yourselves thousands of families would be left to struggle in very difficult circumstances, not just financially. We cannot praise you highly enough! If I had not read of Steve and Samantha Good’s case (also handled by your good selves) we would never have learned of Residence Allowance or indeed any financial help from Social Services/Kirklees Council as we had been told when we enquired that no such help was available.”
Ends.

Editor’s note: Ridley & Hall are one of Yorkshire’s leading firms of disability and community care lawyers. The firm has a Franchise in Community Care and Welfare Benefits and Family. They commenced a number of Judicial Reviews involving local Councils in West Yorkshire and are at the forefront of the battle to ensure that friend and relatives are paid the sums that are due to them.