Norfolk County Council apology after review rules against fee changes

Norfolk County Council has issued an apology after a High Court judge found that it had discriminated against people with severe disabilities after a hike in care fees.

The legal challenge was brought by a 24-year-old woman and her mother after they had unsuccessfully campaigned against the council’s decision to change the basis on which it calculates charges made for the care that it provides.

The alterations, which amounted to an increase in those charges, from £16.88 to £50.53 for the woman, were initially approved by the county council in early 2019, and phased in during the following year.

Mr Justice Griffiths, who oversaw the judicial review at London’s High Court, said in his summary: “No real effort has been made in argument to justify the discriminatory impact of the charging policy on the severely disabled.”

The court found that the new policy discriminated against severely disabled people under the European Convention on Human Rights because the council would be charging those with the highest support needs proportionately more than those at the lower end of the scale.

“Balancing the severity of the measure’s effects on the rights of the persons to whom it applies, against the importance of the objectives, the discriminatory effect is irrational, unnecessary and wholly out of proportion.”

In the wake of the review’s findings, the council agreed to amend its charging policy for non-residential care for people of working age, issued an apology to those affected and backdated the amendment.

It also pledged to initiate further detailed work on the impact of its charging policy.

Andrew Proctor, county council leader, said: “It’s important that we respond to the judgement quickly and we have done just that. We will ensure that everything that needs to be changed will be done as soon as possible.”

He added: “The council did not intend to discriminate”.

Bill Borrett, cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said: “I am sorry that the council has been found to have caused discrimination, though it was inadvertent.

“The council only sought the changes due to not having unlimited funds, and has had to make very difficult decisions on adult social care services.

“We are committed to working with the claimant and her family to resolve the issues raised in this judgment as quickly as possible.”