R (on the application of Savva) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea [2010] EWHC 414 (Admin), [2010] All ER (D) 118 (Mar)
The claimant completed a personal budget supported self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ). After a hospital visit she completed another and was allocated a higher points score; however the monetary value was unchanged and no reasons given.
The court ruled that there was a requirement for there to be reasons given by a panel that was making a decision relating to a personal budget, and the provision of direct payments under s 57 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 in discharge of its duty under s 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.
Personal budgets were new and in many ways represented a fundamental shift in community care. It would have to be incumbent on those responsible for that provision, to be transparent, and to explain individual decisions in a precise and clear manner.
