High levels of interest in social care law for disabled children have prompted the Law Commission to take the rare step of extending its consultation on potential reforms.

A spokesperson for the commission told the Gazette that it became clear during consultation events that there was a lot of interest in the issue and some stakeholders requested extra time to submit responses.

The commission began consulting on potential reforms in October, declaring that the current law on disabled children's social care law was out of date, inaccessible and potentially unfair.

Recommendations to government could include an express duty set out clearly in law that would require local authorities to assess the social care needs of a disabled child. 

The commission could also recommend changing the law to end the 'postcode lottery' for accessing services. ‘Whether a disabled child is eligible for help from social services depends on where they live in the country. This is because local authorities are allowed to draw up their own eligibility criteria,' the commission said in its consultation.

'Of the eligibility criteria we’ve looked at in the lead up to this consultation, no two are the same. Some criteria make it particularly difficult for autistic children to access services, for example requiring them to have a learning disability as well in order to qualify for services'.

Section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 was intended to standardise provision across the country and place social services under a duty to provide services that previously had been discretionary. 'But a court case in 1997 decided that local authorities are entitled to take their resources into account in deciding whether the duty under section 2 has arisen. This allows authorities to design their own eligibility criteria, based on how much money they have available to spend on social care', the commission said.

A single duty to meet the needs of disabled children subject to national, not local, criteria is proposed.

The consultation will now close on 31 January.