The Care Act 2014
What is the Care Act?
The Care Act 2014 modernises and consolidates the law on adult care in England into one statute and has been described as the biggest change to the law in 60 years, The legislation replaces most current law regarding carers and people being cared for. It outlines the way in which local authorities should carry out carer's assessments and needs assessments; how local authorities should determine who is eligible for support; the new obligations on local authorities; and how local authorities should charge for both residential care and community care.
The Care Act is mainly for adults in need of care and support, and their adult carers. There are some provisions for the transition of children in need of care and support, parent carers of children in need of care and support, and young carers. However the main provisions for these groups (before transition) are in the Children and Families Act 2014.
For more information please contact
Telephone: 01564 821 650
Click here to see the Governments The Care Act legislation fact sheets
Click here for The Care Act easy read guide
Promoting people's right to choice and control under the Care Act 2014
How are local authorities performing?
The Independent Living Strategy Group conducted two pieces of research and analysis to explore the degree to which local authorities are following the spirit and letter of the Care Act and its statutory guidance in seeking to optimize choice and control.
Despite emphasis on wellbeing, choice and control within the Care Act the survey found near half of respondents felt their quality of life had reduced and 30% experienced a reduction in choice and control.
Local Authorities are generally not yet meeting their duties to provide people with clear information.
Things your local authority should have told you about the care act.
These key messages are a useful summary of the things you should know about the care act and the responsibilities local authorities have regarding; assessment, eligibility decisions, the definition of and entitlement to Personal Budgets, and the control people should enjoy over their support.
They are intended to capture the spirit as well as the letter of the Care Act bringing together in one convenient summary a check list of key messages that can be used to review the information being made available by the local authority in your area.
All the messages are based on clear expectations set out in the care act statutory guidance. For presentation purposes on the first key message contains the relevant care act guidance in full, but sections of the guidance are clearly referenced under each of the following key messages.
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Purpose and nature of the assessment process
