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The law and guidance concerning the social care of adults are a mess. More than 30 statutes and guidance documents deal with this area, many of which overlap or contradict each other, some dating back five decades. Because of this, the Law Commission has been asked to review the law and propose changes, which is, as the Law Society Gazette has put it, ‘the most radical shake‐up of adult social care in 60 years’ (Rayner, 2010). It is estimated that such legislation would affect 1.8 million people and six million carers (Brindle, 2010). The consultation document was published in February 2010 following a scoping exercise, and the closure date for responses was the 1st July 2010. The hope is that the consultation exercise will result in a response next year and a Bill drafted by the summer of 2012. In this article, we review the background to the consultation, and explore the Law Commission's proposals for reform. We examine the issues with particular reference to the readership of this journal, and make suggestions for change. We have also submited this article to the Law Commission as a response to the consultation document.

In this chapter, I examine stories that foster care youth tell to legislatures, courts, policymakers, and the public to influence policy decisions. The stories told by these children are analogized to victim truth testimony, analyzed as a therapeutic, procedural, and developmental process, and examined as a catalyst for systemic accountability and change. Youth stories take different forms and appear in different media: testimony in legislatures, courts, research surveys or studies; opinion editorials and interviews in newspapers or blog posts; digital stories on YouTube; and artistic expression. Lawyers often serve as conduits for youth storytelling, translating their clients’ stories to the public. Organized advocacy by youth also informs and animates policy development. One recent example fosters youth organizing to promote “normalcy” in child welfare practices in Florida, and in related federal legislation.

This article discusses the Law Commission's proposals for the reform of adult social care, with a particular emphasis on the specific proposals relating to adult protection. It argues that a future adult social care statute should clarify the existing legal position by placing a duty on local social services authorities to make enquiries and take appropriate action in adult protection cases. The definition of an adult at risk for the purposes of the duty to investigate is also considered and a proposal is put forward for how this might be defined in the statute. The article also proposes that the compulsory removal power under section 47 of the National Assistance Act 1948 (HM Government, 1948) should be repealed, that adult safeguarding boards should be placed on a statutory footing and that duties to co‐operate in adult protection should be introduced. Finally, concerns are raised that the current lack of statutory provision for adult protection may mean that there is confusion over the precise legal status of the guidance No Secrets (Department of Health & Home Office, 2000) and In Safe Hands (Welsh Assembly Government, 2000) and what actions this can authorise.

A recent Law Commission paper claims that the law on adult social care is complex and based on outdated concepts, and therefore needs to be reformed. The boundary between health care and social care services is less clear than it once was, but its existence can be damaging to service users. Although there is good evidence of integrated working, more needs to be done. Existing duties could be consolidated, or health care and social care bodies ‐ and perhaps others ‐ could be placed under a general duty to co‐operate.

The provisional proposals in the Law Commission's consultation paper are described as an important first step towards the introduction of legislation that is clear, consistent and modern. But are the proposed reforms radical enough to achieve the policy goal of greater integration of services?

The purpose of this paper is to set out the Law Commission's final recommendations for the reform of adult social care, with a particular emphasis on the recommendations for a new legal framework for adult safeguarding in England and Wales.

The paper discusses each of the Law Commission's recommendations for adult safeguarding and contrasts them with the proposals put forward at the consultation phase of the review.

The paper argues that a single legal framework for adult social care, including adult safeguarding, with have substantial benefits in terms of legal clarity, consistency and efficiency.

A clear and single legal framework is important for older and disabled people, and their carers, in order to understand fully their entitlements, and for local authorities and partnership agencies (such as the NHS and the police) in order to understand fully their responsibilities.

The paper provides a clear summary of the Law Commission's final report – in particular the recommendations for adult safeguarding.

This paper seeks to set out the Law Commission's final recommendations for the reform of adult social care, including the community care assessment process, service provision, and the recommendations for a new legal framework for adult safeguarding in England and Wales.

The paper discusses each of the Law Commission's recommendations for adult social care and contrasts them with the proposals put forward at the consultation phase of the review.

The paper argues that a single legal framework for adult social care, including adult safeguarding, will have substantial benefits in terms of legal clarity, consistency, and efficiency. A clear and single legal framework is important for older and disabled people, and their carers, in order to understand fully their entitlements, and for local authorities and partnership agencies (such as the NHS and the police) in order to fully understand their responsibilities.

The paper provides a clear summary of the Law Commission's final report – in particular the recommendations for community care assessments and service provision and adult safeguarding.

In May 2011, the Law Commission proposed wide‐ranging reform to adult social care law for England and Wales. This paper aims to identify and analyse the implications for integrated care and other forms of collaboration in health and social care.

The paper takes the form of an analysis of the Law Commission's final report.

The Law Commission proposes a number of changes designed to facilitate joint working between local authorities and NHS bodies in England and Wales and the Law Commission's approach marks a departure from the current reliance on consensus and soft‐edged rules such as government guidance to bring about more integrated care.

The paper analyses the changes to practice that would result from implementation of the Commission's recommendations.

As numerous scholars have noted, the law takes a strikingly incoherent approach to adolescent reproduction. States overwhelmingly allow a teenage girl to independently consent to pregnancy care and medical treatment for her child, and even to give up her child for adoption, all without notice to her parents, but require parental notice or consent for abortion. This chapter argues that this oft-noted contradiction in the law on teenage reproductive decision-making is in fact not as contradictory as it first appears. A closer look at the law’s apparently conflicting approaches to teenage abortion and teenage childbirth exposes common ground that scholars have overlooked. The chapter compares the full spectrum of minors’ reproductive rights and unmasks deep similarities in the law on adolescent reproduction – in particular an undercurrent of desire to punish (female) teenage sexuality, whether pregnant girls choose abortion or childbirth. It demonstrates that in practice, the law undermines adolescents’ reproductive rights, whichever path of pregnancy resolution they choose. At the same time that the law thwarts adolescents’ access to abortion care, it also fails to protect adolescents’ rights as parents. The analysis shows that these two superficially conflicting sets of rules in fact work in tandem to enforce a traditional gender script – that self-sacrificing mothers should give birth and give up their infants to better circumstances, no matter the emotional costs to themselves. This chapter also suggests novel policy solutions to the difficulties posed by adolescent reproduction by urging reforms that look to third parties other than parents or the State to better support adolescent decision-making relating to pregnancy and parenting.

No Secrets: Guidance on developing and implementing multiagency policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse was introduced as formal guidance in 2000 (Department of Health, 2000). In July 2009, the government published Safeguarding Adults: Report on the consultation on the review of the ‘No Secrete’ guidance (Department of Health, 2009), paving the way for revised guidance. In the 10 years since the introduction of No Secrets, we have seen many changes in the field of adult protection, including reconceptualisation of this area of practice in terms of ‘safeguarding’. As guidance, No Secrets operates within the context of current legislation and case law. This legal landscape has developed considerably over the last 10 years and it is apposite to review those changes; the effect of which must be integrated into any review. 2010 also marks 10 years since the implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HM Government, 1998) and while its influence is clear in some developments, certain case law decisions have been disappointing.