Managing suspected misuse of direct payments: messages for practice from the High Court

The purpose of this paper is to assess the practical implications of a recent High Court ruling about the legality of a council's response to concerns that direct payments were being misused.

This is a review of a reported High Court decision.

The High Court upheld a council's unilateral response to its genuine concerns about misuse of direct payments but this was an extreme case. Normally, a far more inclusive approach to direct payments decision making is required.

This paper provides an interpretation of the judgment for practical application.