1. Service Overview
The Equality Act & Reasonable Adjustments advisory program supports local authority social care commissioners, healthcare coordinators, and governance leads in ensuring that public statutory decisions are compliant with the Equality Act 2010.
Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, public bodies are bound by the **Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)**. This requires proactive, documented consideration of the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity. A key, often-litigated component of this duty is the provision of **reasonable adjustments** for disabled individuals (Section 20). If an authority fails to document and provide these adjustments during assessments or commissioning, their final funding decisions can be ruled procedurally unfair and struck down by courts.
This service audits your assessment channels, client communications, and panels to create a structured approach to identifying, documenting, and implementing reasonable adjustments.
2. The Challenges We Solve
We target critical compliance gaps under the Equality Act, such as:
- Unrecorded Adjustments: front-line workers providing adjustments in practice but failing to create an audit-proof paper record.
- Inaccessible Assessment Routes: digital or telephone-first assessment paths that place neurodivergent or learning-disabled adults at a disadvantage.
- PSED Boilerplates: utilizing generic, boilerplate PSED impact statements on cabinet or panel reports rather than custom, case-specific evidence assessments.
- Lack of Advocacy Integration: failing to identify when an individual has substantial difficulty and is statutorily entitled to an independent advocate.
3. The LEX NEGATA Solution
We work to integrate **Reasonable Adjustments Audit Trails** directly into your case management software. Rather than treating compliance as an extra layer of bureaucracy, we design it as a natural step in the assessment workflow:
Our team reviews your public-facing portals, assessment guidelines, and staff prompts. We then draft a customized **Reasonable Adjustments & Advocacy Protocol** that helps staff log and audit communication needs, physical adjustments, and independent advocate involvement on every file.
4. Step-by-Step Methodology
Our methodology follows a clear transition timeline:
- Stage 1: Channel Mapping (Weeks 1-2): Mapping the user journey across online, telephone, and face-to-face assessment channels to locate exclusion risks.
- Stage 2: Case File Spot-Checks (Weeks 3-4): Auditing a cross-section of files to verify if communication adjustments were documented and executed.
- Stage 3: Protocol Formulation (Weeks 5-6): Drafting the customized Reasonable Adjustments Protocol and panel approval frameworks.
- Stage 4: Launch & Briefings (Weeks 7-8): Delivering targeted briefings to commissioners and team managers.
5. Key Project Deliverables
- • PSED Compliance Audit Report: Reviewing structural gaps in public sector compliance.
- • Reasonable Adjustments & Advocacy Protocol: Operational guidelines for social workers.
- • System Audit Checklists: Direct checklist integration for your electronic case records system.
- • Cabinet/Panel Report Templates: Legal-proof templates for presenting decisions to funding boards.
6. Project Duration & Investment Guide
Typical Duration: 6 to 8 weeks.
Investment Guide: Fixed-project pricing calculated based on the number of services and department channels audited. Frames are designed to meet public procurement limits. Get in touch for details.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
Why is PSED documentation so critical during judicial reviews?
Courts do not check if a decision is "right," but rather if the public body followed a lawful process. If there is no written record proving the authority actively considered the needs of disabled individuals before changing or capping a care package, the court will rule the decision unlawful based on a breach of the PSED.
Does this apply to external commissioned services?
Yes. Even if a local authority commissions care to a private provider, the statutory duty under the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act remains with the authority. We help structure contract metrics to monitor provider compliance.