Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This book provides an in-depth socio-legal examination of adult social care law and policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the tensions between legislation, policy, economy, and practice in what was already an under-resourced and overstretched sector. The authors interrogate the vision and utility of the Care Act 2014 and explore the impact of emergency legislation and operational changes implemented during the pandemic. Detailing what happened to social care provision during this time of intense stress and turbulence for people who draw on services, for informal carers, and for those who work in the sector, the book highlights fault-lines in the system. This is an invaluable resource offering timely lessons for social care reform and future pandemic preparedness planning.Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The pandemic has laid bare vulnerabilities and inconsistencies in the adult social care system and the ways in which these place people who draw on services in ever more precarious positions. Based on original socio-legal research, this book traces how emergency legislation and operational changes played out on the ground and offers ways forward for law and regulation.