Rebecca Handcock
Rebecca is regularly instructed by local authorities and persons lacking capacity (including through the Official Solicitor).
Her cases often raise complex issues – including dealing with extreme hoarding cases, cases involving medical treatment, and cases involving contact with others including sexual contact.
She is often instructed to deal with matters related to an individual’s deprivation of liberty, including challenges under section 21A of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Rebecca also has a busy Inquest and Inquiries practice, including large long-term projects such as the Covid Inquiry, in respect of which Rebecca has been instructed since 2022.
Rebecca has experience being instructed by central and local government in matters which cover varied and often high profile subject matter, regularly attracting media attention.
In her Inquest work, Rebecca regularly takes instructions in respect of Inquests where the subject matter overlaps with other areas of her practice (e.g. the deaths of those with known or suspected mental health or mental capacity issues).
Early on in her legal career, Rebecca worked as an in-house lawyer at the Government Legal Department, where she spent time in the Ministry of Defence dealing with Article 3 Inquests. She is now a member of the Attorney General’s C panel of counsel to the Crown.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2013
Membership
- COPBA
Qualification
- Jurisprudence (2010)
Education
- University of Oxford (2010)
16 Contributions by Rebecca Handcock
PRACTICE NOTES
Alternative adult social care provision and funding: local authority duties, charging, direct payments, benefits and equity release (England)
Alternative care
People with care and support needs can receive assistance from family members, friends and other relatives as part of a holistic package tailored to meet those needs. This support may sit alongside, or even replace, help from the local authority (LA). Where LAs consider that an adult may have eligible care and support needs, they must carry out an assessment to determine whether such needs are present, and the nature of the support required. In R (on the application of Antoniak) v Westminster City Council, the High Court clarified the meaning of ‘needs’ within Part 1 of the Care Act 2014 (CA 2014). When conducting a needs assessment under CA 2014, the exercise is to assess an individual’s needs without reference to the help and support they already receive. A need that is currently met is nevertheless still a ‘need’. See News Analysis: The meaning of ‘needs’ under the Care Act 2014 (R (Antoniak) v Westminster City Council). Where an adult has needs, and those needs satisfy the prescribed eligibility criteria, their LA may elect to meet them, or may in some circumstances be under a duty to do so...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Deferred Payment Agreements for Care Home Costs under the Care Act 2014 (England): Mandatory Criteria, Execution and Security over Registered Land
This Practice Note explores when an individual living in a care home may postpone paying their fees by entering a deferred payment agreement (DPA), and outlines the measures a local authority should adopt to make sure the DPA offers sound security for the monies advanced. A DPA is a mechanism through which the local authority covers the expense of a person’s care home placement where, absent the arrangement, that person would be liable for those costs. Sums disbursed by the authority build up as a debt, secured against an appropriate asset—most commonly the person’s former home. That liability becomes payable after the person’s death or, if earlier, on the sale of the property or other collateral.
Deferred payment agreements—relevant law
When assessing DPAs, the initial sources to consult are the primary legislation, regulations and guidance. These include:
sections 34 and 35 of the Care Act 2014 (CA 2014)
the Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014, SI 2014/2671, as amended by the Care and Support (Deferred Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/1318
part 9 of the Care and support statutory guidance (the guidance)
Key points This Practice Note addresses the...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
England: Local authority care home placements—preferred accommodation, charging and top-ups, property disregards, deferred payment agreements, CQC registration, and housing benefit for temporary or trial stays
A local authority is under a duty to properly arrange a placement in an adult’s preferred accommodation for anyone assessed as having eligible care and support needs, provided specific qualifying conditions are satisfied. Where the authority does so, the adult may, following an assessment of their income and capital, have to contribute towards the overall ongoing placement costs. An individual can be accommodated in a setting that is a care home, whether either licensed or unlicensed. If an older or vulnerable person needs a high level of support from the local authority, a residential care home may be the most appropriate option.
Definition of a local authority care home
A local authority care home in England provides accommodation together with personal or nursing care, including emotional or psychiatric care, for people who:
are or have been ill
have or have had a mental disorder
are disabled or infirm
are or have been dependent on alcohol or drugs
Registration of care homes
Accommodation regarded as a care home must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the name of the manager responsible for running it. Homes must meet the applicable national minimum standards and registration is only granted to...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Housing Act 1996 Part VII: interim accommodation duties, suitability, and powers pending review/appeal (England and Wales)
Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996) establishes the statutory homelessness regime for local housing authorities (LHAs) operating in England and Wales. It outlines the distinct obligations an LHA may owe to different homeless applicants. Inevitably, an LHA requires time to investigate a homeless applicant’s particular circumstances before deciding which duty is owed in law. Certain applicants’ situations are so urgent that accommodation is needed at once, even before the LHA can complete its enquiries. The HA 1996, in defined cases, requires LHAs to secure accommodation on an interim basis. This Practice Note explains the situations in which that interim duty arises and how it is discharged in practice. It also describes the power an LHA has, once its enquiries are concluded, to provide interim accommodation where:
an applicant seeks a review under HA 1996, s 202 of an unfavourable decision, or
an applicant brings an appeal under HA 1996, s 204 to the County Court
Duty to accommodate pending enquiries
The obligation on an LHA to secure accommodation for a homeless applicant while enquiries are undertaken into which duty...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Local housing authority allocations: decisions, eligibility and qualification, internal reviews, reasonable preference and judicial review, including discrimination challenges (England and Wales)
This Practice Note clarifies that a local housing authority (LHA) may allocate housing accommodation as it thinks suitable, reflecting the needs of the local community, set out within a published allocation plan. When an application is submitted, it must be examined and a determination reached by applying the published allocation criteria. An applicant is entitled to seek a review of refusals and to be told the outcome on review together with the reasons for it. It also identifies when a challenge is governed by statute, and when it ought to be brought by judicial review.
Applications for housing—decisions
An LHA is required to assess every application for the allocation of accommodation made in line with the procedural requirements of its allocation scheme. So long as it is evident that proper consideration has been given, the court is unlikely to disturb the LHA’s approach. In R (on the application of Heaney) v Lambeth Borough Council, Collins J rejected the claim for judicial review on the basis that the LHA’s approach was not unlawful. An LHA must also provide, at no cost, any assistance that is necessary to enable an applicant to make such an application...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Mental capacity in housing, care and proceedings: MCA 2005 principles, best interests, homelessness eligibility, carers’ protection and CPR Part 21 litigation friends (England and Wales)
This Practice Note outlines that the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) presumes adults have capacity to make informed choices unless proven otherwise. It summarises the principles that steer capacity assessments and a person’s ability to reason through a decision under the MCA 2005, and refers to the Code of Practice for people working with, or caring for, individuals who lack capacity. It addresses the MCA 2005 definition of a person’s best interests where capacity is absent and the protections available to those responsible for their care. It clarifies that the ability to decide is both time‑specific and decision‑specific, and the considerations when evaluating capacity to choose where to live and what care to receive. It further explains that assessments must relate to the specific decision at the material time, rather than a broad, overall competence.
Presumption of capacity for adults
MCA 2005, s 1(2) establishes a presumption that adults possess capacity. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, a person is taken to retain capacity to make informed decisions. The requisite standard of proof is the balance of probabilities (MCA 2005, s 2(4))...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Property and financial affairs LPAs for local authority practitioners: capacity, care funding, safeguarding (including financial abuse), deputyship and Court of Protection (England and Wales)
This Practice Note offers a high-level outline of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) for property and financial affairs and why it matters to a local authority practitioner. It looks at how LPAs affect the delivery of services and care to people who lack capacity; scenarios where no attorney is in place, where you might consider stepping into that capacity, and when an application to the Court of Protection could be required. It also explores additional responsibilities a local authority may owe to an incapacitated person. Finally, the Practice Note provides a synopsis of financial safeguards, including attention to financial abuse...
What is a property and financial affairs LPA?
This form of power of attorney (LPAPFA) concerns the handling of an individual’s finances when they do not have the mental capacity to manage their own affairs. The donor (the person creating the power) may appoint one or more people (attorneys) to take those decisions on their behalf. An LPAPFA only takes effect once registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which can be confirmed by a perforated stamp, subject to any restrictions set out in the document itself...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Remaining at Home: Assessments, Eligibility, Care Planning, Direct Payments and Remedies under the Care Act 2014 (England)
Individuals requiring care and support might have to relocate to accommodation better suited to their needs and circumstances. With appropriate assistance from the local authority, some may remain in their own accommodation instead. The Care and support statutory guidance confirms that ‘independent living’ sits at the heart of ‘promoting wellbeing’, which is the Care Act’s primary purpose. Enabling people to live as autonomously as possible, for as long as possible, is a fundamental principle of the Care Act 2014 (CA 2014)...
Community care assessments
A local authority is obliged to assess the needs of any adult it believes may require care and support. Authorities are expected to apply a low threshold when deciding whether to undertake assessments in the first place. After completing an assessment, the authority must consider it in full and decide which services, if any, are needed to meet the person’s needs. Where an adult’s needs meet the eligibility criteria, the authority may elect to meet them, or in some circumstances be under a duty to do so. See Practice Note: Care and support needs assessments...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Social housing allocation in England: qualification under HA 1996 s 160ZA, local connection limits, protected cohorts (Armed Forces, Right to Move, domestic abuse victims, care leavers), and EqA 2010
This Practice Note explains the rules on qualification for the allocation of housing by a local housing authority (LHA) in England, brought in by the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) and inserted into the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996). It is not relevant to Wales. It sets out the general allocation framework, issues affecting the armed forces, the right to move, and also how these elements interact. Through LA 2011, significant changes were made to HA 1996, Part VI, which governs the allocation of social housing. A key change, applying in England only and not in Wales, was the creation of a concept of ‘qualification’ for allocation, alongside ‘eligibility’. Accordingly, in England, a person who meets eligibility criteria for an allocation (broadly, by holding the requisite immigration status—see Practice Note: Allocation—eligibility) but is not a qualifying person cannot be offered housing accommodation by an LHA. This Practice Note considers what amounts to a qualifying person, identifies the different categories of qualifying persons, and explores how that concept interacts with the principle of reasonable preference addressed in Practice Note: Allocation preference.
What is a qualifying person?...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Social housing allocation schemes: reasonable and additional preference, qualification rules, Armed Forces priority and key authorities (England and Wales)
Reasonable preference
A local housing authority (LHA) must operate an allocation scheme that sets out how priorities are decided and describes the processes to be used when allocating accommodation. That scheme has to be designed to provide reasonable preference to applicants who come within the reasonable preference groups. The obligation to ensure that preference is given to applicants in these groups is the primary statutory requirement placed on LHAs regarding overall prioritisation, and it rests on the applicant’s housing need...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Statutory framework and practice for local authority social housing allocations in England and Wales: schemes, transfers, choice-based lettings, guidance and equality law
The allocation of social housing by local housing authorities (LHAs) in England and Wales is regulated by Pt VI of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996).
HA 1996 brought together all prior statutes on the provision of social housing and has subsequently been substantially revised by the Homelessness Act 2002 (HA 2002), the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011), and the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Further amendments have been made through the following statutory instruments:
Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2010, SI 2010/866
Housing Act 1996 (Additional Preference for Armed Forces) (England) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/2989
Universal Credit (Consequential, Supplementary, Incidental and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/630
Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (Consequential Amendments) (Wales) Order 2015, SI 2015/1321
Pt VI of HA 1996 (allocation) and Pt VII (homelessness) operate in tandem as related frameworks delivering two distinct routes to social housing assistance. Part VI focuses chiefly on the grant of introductory and secure tenancies, including flexible tenancies (see section 107A of the Housing Act 1985); Part VII is concerned with people who are homeless...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Suitability of accommodation for homeless applicants: assessment criteria, equality, affordability, location, PRS offers, B&B limits and review and appeal (England and Wales)
This Practice Note outlines guidance on the standards expected of accommodation provided by a local housing authority (LHA) when fulfilling its housing duty under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996), including how suitability is evaluated. For details on how an applicant might challenge suitability, see Practice Note: Homelessness review and appeal. Statutory guidance was published on 22 February 2018 to align with the commencement of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 on 3 April 2018, and is updated on a regular basis. Throughout this Practice Note, that guidance is termed the ‘Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities’ (the Code).
Discharging the housing duty
All accommodation arranged by an LHA in performance of its housing duties under HA 1996, Pt VII must be suitable. This includes accommodation obtained in exercise of an LHA’s interim powers and duties, such as the duty in HA 1996, s 188(1) to secure accommodation pending a final determination of the duty owed to a potentially homeless applicant, and the relief duty in HA 1996, s 189B (see Practice Note: Homelessness—Interim duties). It also extends to accommodation sourced by the LHA from another person, in meeting its duties under HA 1996, Pt VII accordingly...
Local Government
PRECEDENTS
Letter to GP requesting MCA 2005 capacity assessment to execute a Health and Welfare LPA (England and Wales)
[ GP OR Doctor ]
Dear Dr [ insert name ]
Client nameClient addressClient date of birth
I represent [ insert client’s name ] in connection with a lasting power of attorney (LPA) for their health and care. I seek to determine whether they possess the necessary mental capacity to sign and execute the document, and I understand that you are their general practitioner (GP)/medical practitioner.
For this assessment, the person should be able to clearly show they can comprehend the information relevant to reaching the decision at hand, fully. In this context, that covers:
what a lasting power of attorney is
their reasons for creating a lasting power of attorney
whom they are appointing and the reasons for that appointment, and
which powers they are granting to their attorney
They must also appreciate that the document requires proper registration before it can be used, and that their attorney will only be authorised to make health and care decisions if, at the relevant time, they do not have the capacity to make that decision themselves...
Local Government
PRECEDENTS
Solicitor’s letter to GP requesting capacity assessment and report under MCA 2005 for Property and Financial Affairs LPA (England and Wales)
[ GP OR Doctor ]
Dear Dr [ insert doctor’s name ]
Client name
Client address
Client date of birth
I represent [ insert client’s name ] in arranging a lasting power of attorney (LPA) concerning their financial decisions. An LPA is a formal document that enables an individual to nominate one or more people to take decisions on their behalf if they become unable to do so because of mental incapacity or other circumstances. I would be obliged if you could assist by preparing a report to confirm whether they possess the necessary mental capacity to sign an LPA for financial affairs...
Local Government
CHECKLISTS
Adult Social Care Debt Prevention: Local Authority Checklist on Information, Deferred Payment Agreements Secured on Property, Early Engagement, Invoicing and Payment Set-Up (England and Wales)
This checklist outlines recommended actions and practical steps that a local authority (LA) could take to avoid the undue build-up of social care debt by service users.
Prevention
Preventing the accumulation of debt is the crucial priority. Below are proposed measures for the client department of an LA to adopt so liabilities do not progress to formal legal action, or to make early recovery activity simpler:
Gather thorough details at the outset of the process. Obtain as much financial evidence as possible, including copies of bank statements, DWP correspondence, and so on...
Local Government
CHECKLISTS
Care Home Deferred Payment Agreements under the Care Act 2014 (England): Mandatory eligibility, policy choices, execution, capacity, consents and HM Land Registry registration—practitioner checklist
This Checklist sets out a concise overview of the applicable law on deferred payment agreements (DPAs), identifying when they must be granted, how to select and establish the DPA, the steps for execution and managing mandatory signatories who lack capacity, together with registering the agreement and keeping originals once registration is complete.
Deferred payment agreements—relevant law
Your first points of reference for deferred payment agreements (DPAs) are the statute, regulations and guidance. These are:
sections 34 and 35 of the Care Act 2014 (CA 2014)
the Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014, SI 2014/2671
Part 9 of the Care and support statutory guidance (the guidance)
Points to note
This Checklist covers offering and securing mandatory DPAs, namely DPAs which legislation and regulations compel you to agree to. It does not address the considerations involved in deciding whether to offer discretionary DPAs. However, if a discretionary DPA is offered and accepted, the execution and securing of that DPA are identical and many of the same requirements will still apply...
Local Government
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