Rebecca Handcock#12891

Rebecca Handcock

Rebecca is regularly instructed by local authorities and persons lacking capacity (including through the Official Solicitor). 

Her cases often raise complex issues – including dealing with extreme hoarding cases, cases involving medical treatment, and cases involving contact with others including sexual contact.

She is often instructed to deal with matters related to an individual’s deprivation of liberty, including challenges under section 21A of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 

Rebecca also has a busy Inquest and Inquiries practice, including large long-term projects such as the Covid Inquiry, in respect of which Rebecca has been instructed since 2022.

Rebecca has experience being instructed by central and local government in matters which cover varied and often high profile subject matter, regularly attracting media attention. 

In her Inquest work, Rebecca regularly takes instructions in respect of Inquests where the subject matter overlaps with other areas of her practice (e.g. the deaths of those with known or suspected mental health or mental capacity issues). 

Early on in her legal career, Rebecca worked as an in-house lawyer at the Government Legal Department, where she spent time in the Ministry of Defence dealing with Article 3 Inquests. She is now a member of the Attorney General’s C panel of counsel to the Crown.

Contributed to

6

Alternative care and funding
Alternative care and funding
Practice Notes

This Practice Note explains the entitlement of family members, friends and relatives who care for the vulnerable to an assessment of their ability to provide the care required. The local authority must take the results of that assessment into account when deciding what services to provide to the vulnerable person. It describes the different services that can be provided, including respite care, domiciliary care and day centre care, and discusses the financial support available to elderly people for their care, including direct payments, welfare benefits, disability living allowance (DLA), personal independence payments (PIP), attendance allowance and carer’s allowance.

Care homes—placement options and fees
Care homes—placement options and fees
Practice Notes

Local authorities have a duty to place a person assessed to be in need into accommodation. They must take into consideration an assessment of the person’s income and capital towards the cost of the care home. This Practice Note explains a local authority’s options and responsibilities for the placement of such persons and explains the options for the payment of care.

Entitlement to remain at home
Entitlement to remain at home
Practice Notes

This Practice Note looks at a local authority's duty to carry out community care assessments for adults whom it considers may need care and support, and to provide assistance to disabled people, older disabled people and older people who are not disabled under the Care Act 2014.

Homelessness—interim duties
Homelessness—interim duties
Practice Notes

This Practice Note covers the interim duties that a local housing authority (LHA) has to provide accommodation to a homeless applicant pending completion of its initial enquiries into the applicant’s circumstances pursuant to section 188 of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996). It also covers the power to accommodate pending an HA 1996, s 202 review and HA 1996, s 204 appeal of an unfavourable decision for the applicant.

Homelessness—suitability of accommodation
Homelessness—suitability of accommodation
Practice Notes

This Practice Note covers the concept of suitability of accommodation in the context of Homelessness. It sets out guidance upon the standards applicable to accommodation offered by a local housing authority in discharge of its housing duty under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996), including the question of how suitability is assessed, factors to be assessed, the impact of the public sector equality duty and tenure.

Homelessness—the review and appeal procedures
Homelessness—the review and appeal procedures
Practice Notes

This Practice Note covers the law and guidance on the homelessness review and appeals procedure which applies once a local housing authority has reached a decision under section 184 of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996) regarding the duty it owes to a homeless applicant. This includes a summary of the decisions which can be reviewed, how that review takes place, the time limits for requesting review and guidance upon the appeals procedure which applies in respect of reviewable decisions.

Practice Area

Panel

  • Contributing Author

Qualified Year

  • 2013

Membership

  • COPBA

Qualification

  • Jurisprudence (2010)

Education

  • University of Oxford (2010)

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