Title: Removing rights from the vulnerable: the impact of COVID-19 Social Care "easements"
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: The main objectives are as follows: (a) Provide the first detailed socio-legal analysis of the practical implications of withdrawal of fundamental rights from the vulnerable through the operation of Care Act easements with a focus upon four diverse local authority areas in the Midlands which contain locales of acute social deprivation (Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire). The analysis will involve an extensive review of primary and secondary sources and 40 semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders in the local authorities under review, legal practitioners and social care workers involved in the implementation and application of the easements and with groups representing social care users. The project will identify key issues which are applicable beyond the Midlands areas specifically under examination and which can be seen as relevant for the UK as a whole. To undertake this objective we will work with the Project Partner Central England Law Centre and an Advisory Board including representatives from stakeholders including user groups and the legal profession. (b) Ensure that the project has an effective impact on policy and practice in the short and the long term. This objective will be facilitated through working with the project partner Central England Law Centre and the Advisory Board. (c) Disseminate key findings from the research through a Project Report and in events involving stakeholders in the Midlands and in London. These have the intention of informing short- and long-term policy and practice in this area. (d) Present findings at major academic conferences and produce articles for publication in leading academic journals. (e) Maintain a lively engagement with the issues involved in the project and the wider health and social care community through the production of blog posts and short articles and through the project website and twitter account.

Lay 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.

Research activity codes: 8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE;INFECTION