Care Act Compliance Risk Audit

Service Overview

Resource pressures and high caseloads often result in statutory documentation gaps. When local authorities or care providers reduce care packages, alter funding allocations, or determine ineligible status, their record-keeping must meet high administrative legal standards.

Our Compliance Risk Audit offers an objective quality assurance mechanism. We audit a selected sample of case files, eligibility logs, and panel records against the statutory requirements of the Care Act 2014, evaluating the clarity of reasoning, the application of national eligibility criteria, and administrative defensibility.

The Challenges We Address

Unclear Statutory Reasoning: Assessments that document needs but fail to link them clearly to the statutory eligibility criteria under Section 13.
Record-Keeping Deficiencies: Lack of documented rationale for limiting care packages or departing from original social work assessments during resource panel reviews.
Failing review compliance: Annual reviews that copy previous logs without reassessing change in circumstances or recording fresh legal justifications.
Section 117 Vulnerabilities: Lack of clear joint planning records with NHS partners, creating funding dispute risks.

Our Audit Solution

We deploy our proprietary Procedural Defensibility Framework™ to systematically audit files. This process identifies weak points where decision-making lacks logical justification, ensuring your services adopt defensible structures before challenges arise.

Key Deliverables Provided:

Comprehensive Audit Report: Systemic compliance mapping.
Casework Compliance Assessment: Rating for individual files.
Dedicated Risk Register: Clear prioritization of gaps.
Action Plan & Governance Framework: Targeted recovery steps.

Typical Duration: 2–8 weeks

Investment Guide: Enquiry-based (Fixed Fee)

Audit Steps

Audit Methodology

Week 1

Scope & Data Setup

Define case file sample volume. Complete data-sharing agreements (NDAs) and establish secure channels for transmitting fully anonymised records.

Weeks 2-4

File Audit & Evaluation

Detailed analysis of eligibility records, decision sheets, panel minutes, and assessments against Care Act standards.

Weeks 5-6

Vulnerability Mapping

Cross-reference findings to highlight recurrent gaps, systemic process vulnerabilities, and areas of high judicial review exposure.

Weeks 7-8

Reporting & Action Presentation

Deliver the Final Audit Report, custom Risk Register, and walk panel managers through the governance recovery plan.

Service FAQs

Audit FAQs

How do you determine the sample size for a compliance audit? +

We work with your quality assurance lead to determine a representative sample. This typically ranges from 15 to 50 case files, focusing on areas with higher litigation risk, such as funding reductions, complex transition cases, and Section 117 joint funding determinations.

How do we maintain GDPR compliance during the audit? +

Data protection is non-negotiable. Lex Negata does not accept files containing personally identifiable information (PII). We provide clear instructions on how your team can easily redact case files (removing names, NHS numbers, addresses, and family details) before uploading them to our secure portal.

What compliance rating system do you use? +

We rate files using three tiers: Green (Defensible, clearly documented reasoning matching Care Act requirements), Amber (Procedurally vulnerable, minor record gaps or weak eligibility linkages), and Red (High Risk, significant omissions in statutory reasoning, lack of documented rationales, or clear process violations).

Judicial Review & Care Act Compliance Risk Audit