Government stalls on disabled children’s social care reform in England
4 mins read
Monday 16 March 2026
The Government has delayed a decision on whether to carry out long awaited reforms to disabled children’s social care law.
In an interim response to the Law Commission’s major review of the disabled children’s social care legal framework, the government today said it would wait until September before deciding which reform recommendations to accept, reject or modify.
The Law Commission’s final report published in September 2025, called for a clearer, more consistent legal framework around social care for disabled children and their families, citing widespread confusion, inconsistent eligibility criteria, and barriers to accessing support.
The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned the review in 2023 after concerns from families, practitioners, and local authorities, as well as campaigning by the Disabled Children’s Partnership.
Amanda Elliot, health lead at Contact, said the response was “disappointing” because reform was urgent. She added: “More children are living with complex disabilities, yet families are finding it harder to access social care support. Too often help only arrives once families reach breaking point when children’s needs have escalated.
“The application process can be frightening for parents as it is so focused on safeguarding. Many feel treated with suspicion and blame rather than care and compassion.
“If disabled children’s needs aren’t supported at home, the impact is felt beyond the family – affecting schools, the NHS and parents’ ability to stay in paid work. Investment in Family Help is welcome, but it is unlikely to solve the problems families face.
“Experts have already set out a clear blueprint for a simpler and fairer social care system for disabled children. The government should accept these reforms and begin implementing them without delay. Without fixing disabled children’s social care, wider SEND reforms will struggle to succeed.”
Help us keep up the pressure
Contact has campaigned for the Law Commission reform proposals to be accepted in full and without delay, a message we will be conveying to DfE officials at when we attend a social care roundtable with parents this week
Help us to keep up the pressure by using this template to email your MP urging them press the government to accept the reforms in full.
The government will publish its final response to the Law Commission on 16 September.
Which reforms did the Law Commission recommend?
The Law Commission report made 40 recommendations for legislative reform including:
- National eligibility criteria to end the post code lottery of care for disabled children.
- A new single statutory duty to assess the social care needs of disabled children,
- A single duty to meet the eligible social care needs of disabled children, based on national eligibility criteria.
- A requirement for direct payments to be sufficient to cover the actual cost of meeting a disabled child’s assessed care needs.
- New statutory guidance for local authorities and families
- A stipulation that people assessing disabled child are required to have ‘the skills, knowledge and competence” to do so.
- A single duty that would enable parent carers to request an assessment for themselves.
What the government’s letter to the Law Commission said
Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister thanked the commission for its work and promised the Department for Education would “engage closely with children, young people, families, local authorities, professionals and representative groups” before making any decisions.
MacAlister confirmed that the government would not decide whether to accept, reject or modify the recommendations until its full response is published later this year. He added that Law Commission’s proposals would be considered alongside the Government’s wider SEND reforms currently out for consultation.
His letter said the rollout out of Family Help under was already delivering “many of the intended outcomes” of the Law Commission’s report and added that the Government remained “firmly committed to creating a simpler, more consistent and more effective framework for disabled children’s social care”.