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This page looks at advising people who may be able to get help from social services if they are ineligible for benefits or housing. Only households including children or vulnerable adults are covered as social services have no remit to help others. It includes some references to relevant case law, and links to the relevant regulations.

What are the housing and housing benefit rights of people with social care needs?

Generally, most people with social care needs get housing and benefit help from local authorities if they need it. But if they are not eligible for housing allocation, homelessness services or housing benefit, and are at risk of homelessness and destitution, then they may have to turn to social services for help. This is essentially only a safety net for the most vulnerable, and there are legal restrictions on who can be helped, although help must be provided if it is necessary to avoid a breach of human rights.

Help for families with children is provided under the Children Act 1989 with powers under S17 of the Act for local authorities to offer money or goods in kind to ensure that the welfare of 'children in need' is protected. Local authorities must also accommodate a child if s/he has no parents able or willing to accommodate him/her: this is under S20 of the same Act.

Help for vulnerable adults is provided under S21 of the National Assistance Act 1948, which is part of the community care provisions. Social services must assess the needs of any person who contacts them who appears to be in 'need of care and attention' because of age, illness, disability or other circumstances.

In a key judgement (M, R (On the Application of) v Slough Borough Council [2008] UKHL 52 (30 July 2008)), the House of Lords found:

But there are restrictions on who can receive this help, based on immigration status.

Anyone with social care needs can get housing form a housing association, but may face problems if they cannot pay the rent and cannot access housing benefit.

Restrictions on social services help

Social services are instructed by law (the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) not to accommodate and support certain groups of people, unless they must do so to avoid a breach of human rights. These restrictions do not apply to children, but may apply to their parents. The people who may not usually be helped are:

• Persons with refugee status elsewhere in the EEA but not in the UK.
• Nationals of other EEA states unless they are in the UK exercising their treaty rights. This means that EEA workers and self-employed people, their family members and EEA students may be offered services but those who have no right to reside may not be.
• Refused asylum seekers who do not cooperate with removal directions.
• People in the UK in breach of the immigration laws who are not asylum seekers (including people who have overstayed their leave or entered illegally).

But people in these groups should be helped in exceptional circumstances:

• Accommodation and support can be offered to EEA nationals with children while arrangements are made to sort out their travel home.
• Accommodation and support can be offered to people with children who are awaiting deportation.
• Accommodation and support must be offered if it is necessary to avoid a breach of human rights.
• Children should always be accommodated (in other words, even if a parent is excluded a child should be accommodated or looked after).

Families with children who are applying for asylum will generally be the responsibility of the UKBA to house and support. Vulnerable adults, however, should be accommodated and supported by the social services department to which they apply for help. If they have children, UKBA will contribute towards the costs of accommodation and support.

Problems with getting social services support and accommodation

Getting help from social services in these circumstances may be difficult and those needing it should get advice from a solicitor, advice centre or specialist organisation. It is also an area in which case law is continually developing.

It is important to stress that social services should always assess the need when approached, doing either a Child In Need assessment under the Children Act 1989 or a Community Care assessment for a vulnerable adult. Accommodation and support should be provided while this assessment takes place, if it is needed.

Generally, social services will contact the UKBA if approached, in order to tell them about the application and check on status. They are obliged to contact UKBA if considering accommodating somebody under one of the exceptions noted above.

Social services can, if considering accommodating someone under one of the exceptions, offer the fare home for the applicant and his/her family, as long as no breach of human rights would be caused by this. Here is an example where the breach was that of the right to family life, article 8, and the family life was that of the child with her non-resident father, and so an offer of the fare home was not acceptable (and the local authority was told to provide accommodation and support while the Home Office dealt with an application to stay): R (M) v Islington LBC [2003] EWHC 1388.

If an applicant is considering applying to stay in the UK on human rights or related grounds, this application is usually dealt with via the asylum system if the human rights are those against cruel or degrading treatment (article 3) or those of family and private life (article 8, for example long residence of children). Social services may be approached for help before such an application is made, and will have to accommodate and support until UKBA make the necessary arrangements for support via the asylum support system (R (Clue) v Birmingham CC[2009] EWCA Civ 1169).