DLS offers a free and confidential legal telephone advice service for Community Care issues.
Community Care services are those provided by social services and the NHS to help adults, children and their carers with their care needs. This can include help at home, respite care, access to the community, travel assistance, residential care and adaptations to your home.
The law in community care is used to challenge decisions made by local authorities and NHS trusts.
The common breaches of law include: removal or reductions in care packages, delays or refusals in assessments and incorrect or unfair charges for necessary services.
Opening Hours
Our Community Care Helpline is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM.
Please call us during our opening hours and leave a message specifying your issue is related to community care and provide us with a brief description of the issue.
If you do not receive a call back or email on the day that you contacted us, you will need to contact us again during helpline hours. Due to capacity reasons, DLS cannot read, listen or respond to messages left outside of helpline hours.
Contact Details
All enquiries are handled in the order they are received.
- Please call: 020 7791 9809
If your impairment means you cannot use the phone, please send an email during helpline opening hours to helpline@dls.org.uk stating clearly at the beginning or subject heading that you need an adjustment requiring use of email. If you do not include such a statement your email will not be read.
Legal aid
If you have a legal issue requiring legal representation and believe that you qualify for legal aid, please contact our Legal Aid Service by clicking here.