In Episode 3 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari speaks with Mansur Dalal, a leading voice in senior living and care. Mansur is a speaker and author, the former Chair of Common Age, which brings together ageing organisations across the 56 countries of the Commonwealth, and the founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Association of Senior Living India.

We’re proud to share the launch of the refreshed Access Social Care website. This update marks an important step forward in how we present our work, support our community, and communicate our impact. More than a visual refresh, the new site is about clarity, accessibility, and ensuring the right people can find the right information at the right time.

In Episode 2 of State of Our Nation: Global Perspectives, Kari is joined by Professor Vic Rayner OBE, Chief Executive of the National Care Forum, for a wide-ranging conversation that blends personal experience, international insight, and a clear challenge to how we think about social care.   

In December 2025, our legal team concluded a case supporting Sara, a young woman who sustained a traumatic brain injury at the age of 16 and has since been left with complex health needs, including profound communication challenges. Sara is unable to communicate through speech, writing, or gesture, and can only indicate “yes” or “no” through blinking, which significantly limits her ability to express needs and participate in conversations. 

Welcome to our new series of our social care podcast 'State of our Nation.

In this series, Kari Gerstheimer, CEO and founder of Access Social Care speaks with international experts to explore social care systems around the world. She is then joined by Andy McCabe from Social Care Future for the second part of the episode, 'State of our Nation: In Conversation', to reflect on what those global insights could mean for legal rights and social care reform here in England.  

Human Rights Matter Most When They Are Hardest to Defend

Human rights aren’t just principles for peaceful times—they are anchors in moments of uncertainty. When fear, division or political pressure intensify, human rights provide something essential: a shared foundation of fairness, dignity and accountability that protects us all.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are changing the way we work at Access Social Care, whether that’s improving the quality of our written communications, speed up our tasks or helping us give people the right advice to help them understand their social care rights.

However, we remain responsible for the quality and accuracy of the content we produce. The use of any AI tool should therefore be seen as a supportive mechanism to create value and enable productivity, with the recognition that outputs from generative AI are susceptible to bias, mistakes and misinformation.

The Autumn Budget has landed, and once again it fails to deliver for adult social care. While the NHS received headline commitments, social care has largely been left behind. This omission matters. 

Following an intensive three-day hearing covering all three government departments’ appeals, the cases have been adjourned. The First Tier Information Rights Tribunal has requested additional evidence from two government departments. The hearings will be relisted for further evidence which may happen from the New Year onwards. We remain keen to progress these cases to achieve greater transparency on the vital decision making processes that determine social care funding.

Bringing the social care community together to shape the future of data—refining our tools, grounding them in real experiences, and building trust across the sector.

Huge thanks and congratulations to Shu Shin Luh, Lizan Ghafoor, Silvia Nicolaou Garcia and Olivia Halse for their brilliant Need to Know: Community Care Law for Immigration Practitioners article in the latest edition of the Legal Action Group publication.

This year has been one of significant milestones and accelerated impact. As we celebrated our fifth birthday in December 2024, we transitioned from a passionate start-up to a maturing organisation, focused on building the infrastructure needed to sustain meaningful change at scale.

There are 2 sessions to choose from and both will be online events.

The sessions are intended for individuals who draw on social care services, or who support a friend or family member who does. It is not suitable for professionals working in the sector.

There is no cost to join. Choose between a FREE ticket a £10 general admission ticket or choose to make a donation.

We have been campaigning for government transparency in social care funding for 4 years now, which means there have been many stages to the journey! We now have a date for the latest hearing which will take place on the 17th, 18th and 19th November 2025.

We have summarised the legal steps that we have taken and how Government departments and the ICO have responded in this one page document. In addition we have compiled a timeline which documents every stage of the Freedom of Information requests to date. Please click on the links to download them.

In recent months, there has been a deeply troubling surge in hate crimes and hateful rhetoric, both online and in our communities. At Access Social Care (ASC), we've felt the impact of this firsthand. Our staff members have shared that they don't always feel safe in their own neighbourhoods, and we've even had instances where racist language was used by a client on a call and in the comments on our social media channels.

In his article, James Kirkup argues that the UK's traditional practice of maintaining secrecy around the budget process is a fundamental mistake.

Last week we enjoyed meeting people who draw on social care, who are supported by Croydon Mencap.  

We also welcomed James Mackie from the Casey Commission who was given the opportunity to meet people who are supported through social care and have direct experience of the current system.

This new, free, lunchtime webinar will look at the processes and strategies for challenging decisions by the LAA, including the process, review stage, independent adjudicator stage; the time limits involved and the relevant regulations.

We’ll think about how the LAA responds and how to counter their position; how to prepare for the Independent Adjudicator and also possibly considering sending a Pre-action Protocol letters where appropriate.

In her latest article for the MJ our CEO, Kari Gerstheimer highlights ASC's radical approach to data.

As a constituent, your views and interests are a priority to your Member of Parliament. Writing to your MP is an important way to ensure that they are aware of your concerns and take action on Government Transparency on social care funding.