11.65DM v Doncaster MBC [2012] EWHC 3652 (Admin), (2012) 15 CCLR 128
Local authorities were required to charge for care home accommodation, even where the resident was detained in such accommodation by virtue of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
Facts: DM and her husband FM claimed the repayment of money she and her husband had paid to Doncaster for FM’s accommodation in a case home when he had been detained there pursuant to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Judgment: Langstaff J held that FM had been accommodated under section 21 of the National Assistance Act (NAA) 1948 rather than under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (which did not include an accommodation duty), that section 22 of the NAA 1948 required Doncaster to charge and that FM had not been discriminated against in breach of the ECHR, compared with detained mental patients and those in receipt of after-care, who were not charged.
Comment: all charging is now discretionary.