Social Care

We understand the complexities of the fast-moving, heavily-regulated social care sector and the challenges this presents to providers in balancing opportunity and risk.
Our highly experienced lawyers offer tailored legal advice to help clients maximise the positive impact on the people they support whilst protecting operational, commercial and reputational success.

Overview

As trusted advisors to many of the UK’s largest social care entities, our expertise extends to a range of public and independent sector clients. These include private providers, charities, housing associations, supported living providers, developers and investors. We work collaboratively with them to support sustainable, long-term growth of their services.

From creation and registration of new services and models of care delivery to regulatory enforcement, we offer comprehensive legal support that includes guidance on acquisition or development, recruitment and appointment to statutory positions, CQC registration and inspection, regulatory compliance (including factual accuracy and rating review processes), enforcement and formal legal proceedings.

We’re also adept at supporting providers and investors undertaking organisational change and transactional projects, leveraging our extensive commercial, corporate and real estate capability to develop (or dispose of) your operations.

Featured experience

  • Supporting through the full life cycle of regulatory registration, compliance, and enforcement. This includes advising on CQC registration, inspection and rating and all aspects of civil and criminal enforcement, including appeals to the First Tier Tribunal and criminal prosecution in respect of safe care, ill-treatment and wilful neglect and manslaughter offences.
  • Advising on all aspects of mental health and capacity law, including issues such best interests decision making, managing the role of the Court of Protection and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards in residential social care and the community. We also assist in navigating the interface with health services and commissioners, and broader interagency working, including safeguarding bodies and the police.
  • Acting for a developer on the acquisition and planning for a care home and retirement village, including preparation of the section 106 agreement. We work with real estate developers on specialist accommodation stretching across the development cycle, including planning, construction, financing, asset management and litigation issues around social care and supported living services.
  • Providing comprehensive employment law advice to clients across the sector, including advising on disciplinaries and grievances, performance management, discrimination, whistleblowing, employment regulatory issues and senior executive disputes, and representing our clients at all stages of litigation
  • Advising on share and asset sale transactions, including due diligence on current levels of regulatory compliance and quality standards, drafting of necessary contractual wording, transaction documentation and support through the CQC registration and de-registration processes

What our clients say

  • Their strengths lie in the knowledge they have which they impart in a manner that does not baffle the clinician and brings the two separate worlds together of law and clinical practice, which is no mean feat.

    Legal 500, Public Sector: Health, North, 2023

  • Very sound advice, both technical and 'real world likelihood' in terms of risk management in particular.

    Legal 500, Public Sector: Health, North, 2023

  • Superb personal values which marry with our own.

    Legal 500, Public Sector: Health, North, 2023

Social care key contacts

Who we are

Why choose DAC Beachcroft?

We’re a broad-based commercial firm serving a wide range of sectors with a strong heritage in insurance,
health and real estate. We combine excellent legal skills and cutting-edge delivery expertise to design
solutions that fit the needs of our clients – often involving clever uses of technology.