School of Law academics play vital role in Disabled Children’s Social Care Law reform
Professor Luke Clements’ and Dr Ana Laura Aiello’s research was extensively cited by the Law Commission in its Consultation Paper on the reform of Disabled Children’s Social Care Law.
The Law Commission states in its Consultation Paper:
We are conducting a review of the legal framework governing social care for disabled children in England to ensure that the law is fair, modern and accessible, allowing children with disabilities to access the support they need.
Members of the Cerebra Legal Entitlements and Problem-Solving (LEaP) Project team, led by Professor Luke Clements and Dr Ana Laura Aiello, were invited to meetings with the Law Commission in the run-up to this consultation paper.
The consultation paper comprehensively discussed LEaP’s 2021 report, which finds that social care policies in England assume parental failings, and create what the authors term a policy of ‘institutionalising parent carer blame’. The research project heard from parent carers, who described their experiences with children’s services as ‘profoundly unhelpful, humiliating and intimidating’.
Instead of undergoing assessment to address their children’s additional needs, the parents were treated as though they were neglectful and/or abusive parents.
The Law Commission will use the responses to their consultation survey to develop their final recommendations for disabled children’s social care reform, which they expect to publish in a report in mid-2025.
Professor Clements and Dr Aiello say:
We are delighted that our research is considered to be of such relevance by the Law Commission. Over the last eight years (supported by the Disabled Children's charity Cerebra) our research has involved close working with parent carers and their support organisations. We are delighted that the Law Commission has, in its preliminary review, indicated that it agrees that we have made out a strong case for radical law reform in several key areas.
This is also an excellent example of how School of Law students are engaged with the community through work that has real-world impact on lives. Multiple student volunteer researchers were involved in the research, and this type of community engagement has numerous benefits for the students involved, including: improving their research skills; developing their understanding of disability law whilst giving something back to the community; making a tangible difference to peoples’ lives; enriching their experience during their studies; exploring their interests; and broadening their employability skills.
LEaP’s impactful research was a runner-up in the Engaged for Impact Awards category ‘making a positive difference to society’, and has been covered by 5 News, BBC News, and BBC Look North. You can read more on Professor Clements’ blog, as well as keep up to date with Cerebra’s work on Twitter/X @CerebraCharity.
