The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered the UK Government to pay a retired, disabled ballerina €1,000 in compensation for breaches of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and €9,500 for expenses and legal costs after she brought a case against her local authority and the Government, which refused to pay for her night-time care.
Elaine McDonald, who has limited mobility after a stroke, brought the case after Kensington and Chelsea borough council declined to pay for a night-time assistant for her, at a cost of £22,270, to help with her frequent need to go to the toilet. They suggested instead that she wear incontinence pads and use absorbent sheets.
The case divided the British courts and ended up in Strasbourg, where the court ruled that the Government had violated Ms McDonald’s rights between November 2008 and November 2009, before it carried out its first full assessment of her care plan.
However, in a Chamber judgement this week, the ECHR said that while there had been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of the period between 21 November 2008 and 4 November 2009 because the interference with her rights had not been in accordance with domestic law during this period, there is no doubt that from November 2009 onwards, the removal of night-time care was in accordance with the law, as the interference in Ms McDonald’s rights pursued a legitimate aim, namely the economic wellbeing of the state.
The Court added that the Government should be granted wide discretion in balancing the needs of vulnerable individuals with the economic wellbeing of the state, which could have significant impact on the level of support local authorities are required to provide in the future.