Who's eligible?

Following five years of consultation and review, part 1 of the Care Act 2014 eventually came into force on 1 April 2015. This part of the Act deals with the way in which local authorities should carry out carers' assessments and needs assessments, how they should determine who is eligible for support and, also contains details of the new wide ranging obligations on local authorities.

Here we will focus on the criteria set out in the Act for assessing who is eligible for state care and the implications that the Act will have for the accessibility of care as a result.

The significance of the Act is that it aims to ensure that individuals are able to remain in control and can make key decisions about their own care. The assessment is one of the key interactions between a local authority and an individual, be that an adult requiring care or a carer. As a result, the Act requires adult social care services to shift from being a reactive service to a proactive one.

The guiding principles of the Act include the following:

1. promoting individual well-being;

2. preventing needs for care and support;

3. promoting integration of care and support with health services; and

4. co-operation.

The Act directs that all local authorities must undertake a needs assessment for any adult who appears to have a need for care, irrespective of their financial resources. People may approach a local authority for an assessment, or be referred by a third party. The 'assessment' which they receive must follow the core statutory obligations, but the process is aimed at being flexible in order to fit in with the individual's needs.

The adult individual can also complete the assessment in collaboration with the local authority, known as a 'supported self-assessment', and allows greater flexibility for the individual.

During the assessment, the local authority must consider all of the adult's care and support needs, even if support is already being provided by a carer. Where the adult has a carer, information on the care that they are providing can be captured during assessment, but it cannot influence the eligibility determination.

Eligibility

To be eligible for state-funded care, the adult must meet the national minimum threshold. This will be decided by the outcome of the assessment. The adult will be eligible if they are assessed as meeting all of the following:

• they have care and support needs as a result of a physical or mental condition;

• because of those needs, they cannot achieve two or more of the outcomes specified; and

• as a result, there is a significant impact on their wellbeing.

These outcomes are included in the regulations and they include activities such as dressing, maintaining personal relationships, working and going to school. If eligibility is established, the local authority will then prepare a care and support plan with the adult. The Act also includes equivalent provisions for carers.

Safeguarding

Where a person is at risk of harm or abuse, the Act recognises the importance that local authorities should act swiftly and put in place an effective response. When carrying out an assessment, the local authority must consider the impact of the adult's needs on their wellbeing.

If it appears to local authorities that the person is experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, they must carry out a safeguarding enquiry and decide with the adult in question what action, if any, is necessary and by whom.

In some cases, the safeguarding enquiry may result in the provision of support or even more drastic action; this may be a referral to the police, or a change in accommodation for the individual. Any assessment for care and support should run parallel to the safeguarding enquiry to ensure that neither is disrupted. n

Matthew Barnett is a senior associate at Harbottle & Lewis and Emily Grosvenor-Taylor is a trainee solicitor at the firm