At the moment, there is statutory guidance which ensures that deafblind people’s specific needs are addressed in the social care system (Social Care for Deafblind Children and Adults, often referred to as the Deafblind Guidance). 

The guidance has made a big difference to the services available to deafblind people in the last ten years. It is essential that the rights contained in the guidance are retained in the new systems.

The guidance means that deafblind people have the right to be assessed by a person with specific training in deafblindness, to receive a service which recognises their needs as a deafblind person, and that local authorities have to identify, make contact with and keep a record of the deafblind people in their area.

Sense will be campaigning hard to ensure that all the protections of the guidance are included in the guidance under the new system.

What the Law Commission recommended

The Law Commission report makes specific reference to the requirements for specialist assessments:

"In some cases a specialist assessment should always be required and indeed this is acknowledged in statutory guidance. At a minimum, we suggest that the existing requirement in statutory guidance for a specialist assessment for deafblind people should be elevated to the regulations."

Sense was delighted that the Government in England accepted this recommendation, but it will be some time before we see the exact wording for these regulations.

One recommendation by the Law Commission that the Government in England has not responded to is the importance of the requirement in the current guidance to identify, make contact with and keep a record of deafblind people in the local authority's area.

Sense will be working to ensure that this and other parts of the current guidance are included in the new system.

The Government in Wales has not yet responded formally to the Law Commission's recommendations. 

Deafblind children

The Deafblind Guidance currently covers both children and adults. In England, where the new law will cover only people over the age of 16 years, it is important that deafblind children retain the rights included in the Deafblind Guidance. The Government has said that it intends to do this, but it is not yet clear exactly how they intend to do so.

In Wales, the new law will cover both children and adults, so the problem does not arise.