The legal, ethical and practical aspects of resource allocation in adult social care

In England, managers working within publicly-funded adult social services departments are required to make decisions about which services to commission, and who is eligible to receive these services. As financial cuts to local authorities intensify, adult social budgets are shrinking, and the emphasis is shifting from the provision of services to the reduction of services. Despite the impact of the current economic climate for public services, there has been little attention on the question of how resources in adult social care should be allocated fairly. This is in stark contrast to the health care ethics context, where resource allocation enjoys a high profile. This project aims to address this gap by integrating analytic approaches drawn from law, social science, and applied ethics.