As social care reform nears crucial turning point do you have an experience to share?
3 mins read
Friday 5 September 2025
The Law Commission is due to publish its recommendations for the reform of disabled children’s social care law this month.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to make the process of asking for social care support simpler and fairer for families with disabled children in England.
Too often support only arrives at crisis point
Families with disabled children know first-hand that the system needs an overhaul. So we look forward to the publication of the report. We will be encouraging the government to take forward the recommendations to improve the process of getting help from social care for families with disabled children.
Amanda Elliot, Contact’s Health and Social Care lead, said:
“Social care is consistently the third most common inquiry to our helpline. Families struggle to understand what support they’re eligible for. We hear from parents whose child the local authority refused a needs assessment or who faced delays getting support. Too often support only arrives when families hit crisis point. Parents also tell us they felt humiliated and blamed when they sought help from social care services.
“That’s why we eagerly anticipate the publication of the Law Commission’s report. And we invite parents to get in touch with us to help us ensure desperately needed change does happen.”
We’d like to hear your experiences
We are keen to ensure parents are heard during meetings with officials and MPs and in the media following the publication of the Law Commission’s report.
If you have an experience of social care that you would like to share, please get in touch with [email protected]
We particularly want to hear from families where:
- You and your child have been turned down for social care support despite clear need or what you have been awarded is not adequate. You may have experience of the complaints process.
- You and your child have been awarded social care support, but it is not the same as another family whose child has the same condition that you know who live in another county or area.
- You and your child have been turned down for social care support because they say that the needs are health related and there is a dispute between the Local Authority and ICB about who should fund the package of care.
- You applied for social care support on the basis of need, but it was assessed as a safeguarding concern despite no evidence of neglect or abuse. This has put you off asking for social care support.
