education, care and direct payments

The case of R(M) v. Suffolk County Council (2006) is an interesting case involving parents who arranged for their child to attend a residential school. The parents were not arguing that the local authority pay for the placement, rather that the payment for the ‘care’ aspect of the placement was funded from Direct Payments – to which the parents were entitled from the local authority. The local authority refused, stating that Direct Payments could not be used in this way. The Judge disagreed and the case establishes that Direct Payments can fund the social care element of residential placement fees.