Removing rights from the vulnerable: the impact of COVID-19 Social Care "easements"
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: Law School
Abstract
The Care Act 2014 places obligations on local authorities to help to improve service users' care and wellbeing. However as part of the COVID-19 emergency powers, local authorities are allowed to suspend the application of certain provisions under the Act by using what are known as "easements". Considerable concern has been expressed that the easements may have an adverse impact upon the fundamental rights of service users, who include some of the most vulnerable persons in the community.
This project will examine the short- and longer-term impacts of these easements on service-users' fundamental rights. Its focus is upon their application in four diverse local authority areas in the Midlands containing locales of acute social deprivation (Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire). The research will be undertaken in partnership with Central England Law Centre, which is based in Birmingham and Coventry.
The project will provide a comprehensive examination of the legal basis for, and the nature and rationale of, easement powers introduced by these local authorities. Interviews will be undertaken with key stakeholders, including local authorities, legal practitioners and social care workers involved in the implementation and application of the easements. It will set out the practical impacts of the easements on individual fundamental rights during the pandemic itself and also explore the potential broader longer-term impacts on health and social care rights in the provision of local authority services.
This project will examine the short- and longer-term impacts of these easements on service-users' fundamental rights. Its focus is upon their application in four diverse local authority areas in the Midlands containing locales of acute social deprivation (Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire). The research will be undertaken in partnership with Central England Law Centre, which is based in Birmingham and Coventry.
The project will provide a comprehensive examination of the legal basis for, and the nature and rationale of, easement powers introduced by these local authorities. Interviews will be undertaken with key stakeholders, including local authorities, legal practitioners and social care workers involved in the implementation and application of the easements. It will set out the practical impacts of the easements on individual fundamental rights during the pandemic itself and also explore the potential broader longer-term impacts on health and social care rights in the provision of local authority services.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Jean McHale (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
McHale J V
(2021)
Blog post : Did Covid-19 social care 'easements' make anything easier?
McHale, J.V.
(2021)
REPORT - Adult Social Care Provision under Pressure: Lessons from the Pandemic.
| Description | The project's work to date has uncovered a range of issues regarding the operation of the changes made to social care provision during the Pandemic, some of which were made expressly using the statutory powers "Care Act easements" under the Coronavirus Act 2020 and others which were made by local authorities not utilising the Act. To date we have found that (a) Contrary to what was first thought there wasn't a clear division between those authorities utilising the easements and those which were not doing so. There was a group of authorities which implemented changes to provision of services without formally notifying the Department of Health and Social Care and yet referred to these as being "Care Act easements". (b) There appeared to be a lack of clear understanding by some local authorities of the guidance for the implementation of the easements produced by the Department of Health and Social Care. (c) The operation of changes to services went far beyond the early months of the Pandemic even though formal easements ceased to be used. (d) There may be a permanent legacy of changes to services such as the movement towards greater digitalisation and movement away from in person day centre provision. |
| Exploitation Route | The ultimate findings of the report may be helpful to those working in health and social care in relation to understanding the effectiveness of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and how pandemic planning resulted in practice. It may also be helpful for the Covid-19 Inquiry. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | Our findings have been distributed to the Department of Health and Social Care and to members of the West Midlands Association of Directors of Social Services and Principal Social Worker Association and to Members of Parliament and Peers. We have had feedback that the local authority stakeholders are reflecting on our findings in understanding their own approach to the Pandemic. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Sharing of updates and initial findings with DHSC Policy Unit 25/05/2021 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Adult Social Care Provision in the West Midlands and the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Matter of Easing the Care Act" with Laura Noszlopy(SLSA Conference, York, April 2022) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dissemination of project findings and engagement in discussion |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Blog post in Birmingham Perspective. 'Adult Social Care under Pressure: Lessons from the Pandemic' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post outlining key findings of research project to date, advertising the report launch and webinar event (links to Eventbrite and to other project related content). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/adult-social-care-under-pressure.aspx |
| Description | Conference paper presented (online) to Society of Legal Scholars annual conference 2021 at Durham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented current research findings to Society of Legal Scholars, followed by engagement through Q&A. Impact included some positive social media commentary, and two direct approaches from commissioning editors of two academic publishers, requesting that we submit a book proposal drawing on this research base. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.legalscholars.ac.uk/conference/ |
| Description | Hosted online report launch and webinar with panel discussion |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Research team hosted an online launch for the Adult Social Care under Pressure: Lessons from the Pandemic Report which presents initial findings of this project up to October 2021. The events was held on Friday 5th November 2021, and was attended by around 50 participants, drawn from research participants, key stakeholders, professional practitioners, and academics. Professor Jean McHale and Dr Laura Noszlopy presented the report, and then opened to a panel discussion to debate the issues raised and explore the challenges ahead for adult social care. This was followed by a lively open Q&A, much of which was focused on the lingering impact of the pandemic, emergency legislation, and the staffing crisis on the quality and sustainability of care provision going forward. Members of the panel included the authors of the Report- Professor Jean McHale and Dr Laura Noszlopy, Centre for Health Law Science and Policy, University of Birmingham. We also invited expert guests to reflect on the Report and the challenges for Social Care in the Pandemic and beyond: John Glasby is Professor of Health and Social Care, School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham Naomi Madden, Director of Projects, Grapevine, Coventry and Warwickshire. Catherine Needham, is Professor of Public Policy and Public Management , Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham, Anna Severwright is one of the Convenors of Social Care Futures and is a former doctor. Dionne Williams, Managing Director, of Forward Carers, a not-for-profit social enterprise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/social-care-provision-under-pressure-lessons-from-the-pandemic-ticket... |
| Description | Multi-team workshop at HSR UK conference 8th July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This multi-disciplinary, cross-institutional Workshop examined the impacts and implications of the 'social care easements' element of the government's emergency pandemic legislation. The workshop draws upon the work of five research teams undertaking projects funded by the NIHR, ESRC and Baring Foundation, each examining different aspects of the social care 'easements' introduced in the Coronavirus Act 2020. Chaired by Professor McHale, this was a collaboration between teams from University of Birmingham, Central England Law Centre, University of Manchester, King's College London, and Keele University. The Workshop was live-streamed to all conference attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.eventsforce.net/eventage/frontend/reg/titem.csp?pageID=91268&eventID=174 |
| Description | Presentation on role of law in social policy to Adult Social Care Research Network at University of Birmingham, 8 February 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We were invited to present our initial research findings to a meeting of the Adult Social Care Network at University of Birmingham (ASC@UoB). Our findings were presented in the context of a wider discussion on the role of law and legal knowledge in the development and operation of social policy and adult social care in particular. Many social workers and educators still didn't know a lot about the Care Act easements or their lingering influence on provision. Good engagement and Q&A, along with invitation for further ongoing discussion of the issues going forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/social-policy/research/adult-social-care/index.aspx |
| Description | Project social media account Removing HSC Rights @CoronavirusAct |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Intended purpose is to engage with service users, policy makers and third sector organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | Project website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Project website, developed to engage with stakeholders, academics and policy makers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/artslaw/projects/covid-19-social-care-easements.aspx |
| Description | Recorded podcast presentation of a paper for the Socio-Legal Studies Conference March 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Podcast recorded presentation of paper by Jean McHale and Laura Noszlopy for the Socio-Legal Studies Association 2021 Conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Roundtable discussion for West Midlands care providers - Learning from the pandemic experience: What's needed and what's next for adult social care? 3rd May 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Project researchers hosted a roundtable discussion day at the Exchange in Birmingham city centre to facilitate an open exchange of experiences and views regarding the state of adult social care provision in the region. Some attendees were informants from the interview-stage of the research, while others arrived via cascading through our networks. Sister project at Central England Law Centre also presented on impact of Care Act easements on local service users and carers. The discussion confirm |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | University of Birmingham Research Spotlight blog: Did Covid-19 social care 'easements' make anything easier? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | University of Birmingham Research Spotlight blog: Did Covid-19 social care 'easements' make anything easier? Brief outline of issues and initial findings posted in response to a change in Government policy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/did-covid-19-social-care-easements-make-anything-e... |