Reasons for Not Adopting COVID-19 Permitted Changes to Legal Duties: Accounts from English Local Authorities

In England, easements, introduced via the Coronavirus Act 2020, were brought in at the start of the pandemic to support English local authority adult social care services. They enabled local authorities to suspend some of their mandatory duties under the Care Act 2014. Easements were only adopted by eight local authorities and for short periods, and the provision was rescinded in late 2021. This article examines why a sample of 16 local authorities, some of which were statistically close to the eight local authorities that did decide to use easements, decided not to do so. It draws on data from interviews undertaken in 2021 with Directors of Adult Services and Principal Social Workers that explored their decision-making about using easements. It also outlines their preparations prior to the pandemic reaching England, how they had operated using flexibilities within the Care Act thus not needing to adopt easements, and their views on those authorities that had adopted them.

Automated summary

This article examines why 16 local authorities, similar to the 8 local authorities that decided to use easements, chose not to do so. It draws on interviews conducted in 2021 with Directors of Adult Services and Principal Social Workers to explore their decision-making process. The article also outlines their preparations prior to the pandemic, how they operated within the flexibilities of the Care Act, and their views on the authorities that adopted easements.