A 19 year old woman who lacks capacity to make major life decisions including where she should live has, with the help of her solicitor at Ridley & Hall and her mother, forced Sefton Council to agree funding for her to stay at Hollybank Trust in Mirfield.

The teenager cannot be named for legal reasons. Sefton Council was the local authority involved as the teenager and her family originally lived in the Sefton area before she moved to Hollybank.

Prior to the 24^th July 2015 when her educational placement was due to end, her mother, Shelley, and social services had visited some alternative adult placements but both agreed none were appropriate.

On the 24^th July, Sefton Council told her mother that her daughter needed to leave Hollybank immediately, despite no appropriate alternative placement having been found. They told her that they had not made a decision about her adult placement and that future funding for Hollybank was not agreed.

The council later agreed a two month extension but stated that she would need to leave Hollybank then.

Hollybank is a registered charity which does fabulous work in supporting and educating children and adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities in their school, residential homes and adult daytime activities programme. The 19 year old had lived at Hollybank in an educational placement for the past eight years. She has substantial additional needs including severe global developmental delay, severe learning difficulties and heart defects. She requires an intense programme of care and becomes anxious and distressed by any small changes to her routine.

Solicitor, Tracey Ling, from Ridley & Hall said, “Hollybank have consistently met her needs in the educational and residential placement. They also provide adult placements and had confirmed that there was an adult placement available for her and transition to it would be seamless.”

Shelley said, “I have previously raised concerns about the inadequacy of planning by Sefton Council for my daughter around her move to adult care. There seemed to be a lack of urgency with the council but I was assured that work was being done behind the scenes. I therefore couldn’t believe it when I was told at the eleventh hour that the funding for Hollybank was not agreed and my daughter simply had to leave when no alternative placement had been found or secured. I was absolutely appalled at the way that Sefton Council were behaving.

“My daughter is extremely vulnerable and if I had not been around and known of the importance of getting good legal advice, I can only imagine what would have happened. I fear that other families may be put in similar situations and may not be as aware.

“When I realised that urgent specialist advice and assistance was required, I contacted Ridley & Hall and instructed Tracey Ling.”

Tracey Ling comments, “Local authorities have duties and obligations towards young people with disabilities. A disabled young person’s move to adulthood is a crucial stage. Failures in the transition planning can be a big contributing factor to a poor quality of future life.

“They have duties to assess needs and to plan in a way which keeps the young person central to any plan which will affect them and to secure services and support that meet eligible needs.

“The transition planning should start early enough to ensure that the right care and support is in place when the young person moves to adult care.

“As this young lady also lacked capacity to decide where she lives, there are additional considerations. The underlying principle of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is to ensure that those who lack capacity are supported to be as involved as possible in the decision making and that any decisions made or action taken on their behalf are done so in their best interests.

“It was only after I challenged this local authority and threatened to take the matter to court that they finally confirmed that my client did not have to leave the placement and that funding had been agreed, to be reviewed after 12 months.”

Shelley said, “I am extremely grateful for the assistance received and would urge anyone in a similar position to seek specialist legal advice as soon as possible.”

Tracey Ling specialises in Community Care and Court of Protection work. For more information contact Tracey on 01484 538421.

Ridley & Hall have a legal aid contract and can assess whether people might qualify for free advice. Alternatively they are able to offer a fixed fee payment scheme.