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   'We have no love for the current system'
Dilnot aside, we must not lose focus on the Law Commission's ground-breaking report which aims to replace all social care law with a single act of Parliament, says Anthony Houlden, policy and parliamentary officer at the National Autistic Society. The big talk in social care is rightly focusing on the crisis in care caused by a lack of funding and cuts to services. The recommendations set out in by the Dilnot Commission offer the best opportunity in decades to build a consensus around the future direction of social care in the UK and the the National Autistic Society (NAS) welcomes this. At the same time, with so much attention focussed on Dilnot, we must not lose focus on a similarly groundbreaking report which aims to replace all social care law with a single act, as prescribed by the Law Commission. The 2010 Equality Act demonstrates the complexities of doing this. In bringing together legislation such as the Equal Pay Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Race Relations Act, the Disability Discrimination Act, we saw the good, the bad and the ugly. Claims, counter claims and scare stories abounded. We know that making laws is a messy busy, but I am not sure we all appreciate just how messy it can be. The NAS believes that the 76 recommendations made by the Law Commission are very sensible and should be implemented in full. However, there is a risk that the opportunity it presents will be used to reduce regulations that could be seen as 'burdensome' and eliminate hard-fought-for individual rights. It is vital that the government seizes this opportunity to improve the current situation, but it must do this with the right mindset. When it comes to social care law, a provider’s burden is often a commissioner’s safeguard; a politician’s burden can be a vital piece of information to campaigners, and a social worker’s burden may be a fundamental right for someone in need. The NAS campaign, I Exist, demonstrated that people with autism currently encounter many problems accessing social care. Over 60 per cent of people with Asperger’s Syndrome or high functioning autism who were surveyed said that they had experienced difficulties in accessing services. Of these, 52 per cent said they had been told by their local authorities or health services that they would not receive support because they did not fit easily into mental health or learning disability services. So we have no love for the current system. However, whenever we set out on a major reform, we must be prepared for the bumpy road ahead. Until the government comes out supporting both the Dilnot recommendations and the Law Commission's report, it is only right that we are worried about the future. Seeing what is currently going on in adult social care provision up and down the country could hardly fill anyone with much confidence. Source: epolitix.com Copyright Dods Parliamentary Ltd
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