Advice centres like the Citizens Advice Bureau or a disability organisation can help you make a complaint or give you details of lawyers able to advise on community care law.

Remember, under the Data Protection Act 1998, you can ask social services for a copy of your file. If you are legally able to act on behalf of the person you are caring for, you can also ask for their file.

You should receive this information within 40 days, but the local authority can charge. Every local authority is required to have a complaints procedure. The procedure has three stages.

If you still aren't satisfied, you can complain to the authorities monitoring officer, followed by the Ombudsman and finally, if the authority appears to have acted unlawfully, you can ask the High Court for a judicial review.