Care Act

The Care Act

“The Care Act is a historic piece of legislation that will make a difference to some of the most vulnerable people in society for many years to come. It places care and support law into a single, clear modern statute for the first time and enshrines the principle of individual wellbeing as the driving force behind it”.

Norman Lamb MP Minister of State for Care and Support June 2014

Part 1 of the 2014 Care Act came into effect in April 2015.

Salford City Council Customer support

If you use care and support, or you look after a family member or friend, from April 2015 you will be able to benefit from changes introduced by the Care Act. More information in the video below and on the Salford City Council website.

Care Act 2014

You can read chapter 23 of The Care Act 2014 here.

The final statutory guidance for phase 1 of the Care Act has now been published. Download the Care and Support Statutory Guidance or Making sure the Care Act Works - Easy read version of the guidance.

An Act to make provision to reform the law relating to care and support for adults and the law relating to support for carers; to make provision about safeguarding adults from abuse or neglect; to make provision about care
standards; to establish and make provision about Health Education England; to establish and make provision about the Health Research Authority; to make provision about integrating care and support with health services; and for connected purposes.

[14th May 2014]

Reform of care and support

Similarly to the Equality Act the Care Act brings together existing care and support legislation into a new set of laws. It seeks to sets out new rights for carers and emphasises the need to prevent and reduce care needs, it also introduces a national eligibility threshold for care and support which specifies the individual needs and circumstances in which every council in England must offer care and support for adults.

Response to the Francis Inquiry

The Care Act is partly a response to the failures highlighted in the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry, led by Robert Francis QC. The Care Act is designed to put patients at the heart of the health and care system and ensure that the Mid-Staffordshire mistakes are not repeated.

The Act introduces a Universal Deferred Payments Scheme, intended to prevent anyone from having to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for residential care. The Act also makes provision for a cap on the costs that people will have to pay for care. The Care Act also:

  • Sets out Ofsted-style ratings for hospitals and care homes so that patients and the public can compare organisations or services and make informed choices about where to go;
  • Enables the new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, appointed by the Care Quality Commission, to trigger a process to deal with unresolved problems with the quality of care more effectively;
  • Makes it a criminal offence for health and care providers to supply or publish false or misleading information.

Health Education England and the Health Research Authority

The Care Act establishes Health Education England (HEE) and the Health Research Authority (HRA) as statutory non-departmental public bodies, with a remit to improve education and training for healthcare professionals, and protecting the interests of people in health and social care research.
Care Funding Reform

Care Funding

  • Paying for care;
  • The Universal Deferred Payment Scheme;
  • The role of the financial services industry;
  • The need for a public awareness campaign; and
  • Provision of information and advice.

Part 1 of the Care Act encompasses 11 aspects of change highlighted in the factsheets below:

Factsheet 1 General responsibilities of local authorities
Factsheet 2 Who is entitled to public care and support?
Factsheet 3 Assessing needs and determining eligibility
Factsheet 4 Personalising care and support planning
Factsheet 5 Charging and financial assessments
Factsheet 6 Reforming how people pay for their care and support
Factsheet 7 Protecting adults from abuse or neglect
Factsheet 8 The law for carers
Factsheet 9 Continuity of care when moving between areas
Factsheet 10 Market oversight and provider failure
Factsheet 11 Transition for children to adult care and support

Safeguarding and the Care Act

Briefing from Skills for Care: Care Act implications for safeguarding adults

The Care Act 2014 puts adult safeguarding on a legal footing, putting good practice into law. This Skills for Care and ADASS- authored briefing sets out:

  • key messages
  • the role of local authorities and partners
  • the impact of the legislation relating to local SABs
  • considerations for care providers and other organisations.

Download the Care Act implications for safeguarding adults.

Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE): Safeguarding adults practice questions

Guidance for frontline practitioners and managers who work with adults who have care and support needs and who may be at risk of abuse or neglect. It identifies a number of challenging safeguarding dilemmas, and aims to make clear how these should be handled within the new legal framework.

Read the adult safeguarding practice questions.

SCIE Adult safeguarding: sharing information

This resource for strategic and practitioner level staff involved in multi-agency safeguarding will include advice and guidance on:

  • What should agencies be sharing?
  • How do practitioners share information?
  • Resolving lack of clarity about what to share and with whom.

Read the Adult Safeguarding Sharing Information guide.

Care Act Resources from VOCAL: Health, Wellbeing and Social Care Forum November 2014

Skills for Care have produced a short video introduction to the Care Act:

More information can be found on the Skills for Care Care Act pages including Learning and Development Materials and Workforce Capacity Planning Tool.

The Care Act Workforce Readiness Tool is designed to help you reflect upon your current workforce, its skills and knowledge and how the Care Act may require a change of approach.

Disability Rights UK Care Act guide

This guide has been written for and from the perspective of disabled people. It is intended to be used by disabled people and people with long-term health conditions who have support needs. The guide does not cover everything that is in the Act but concentrates on those parts of the legislation that are most relevant to people of working age. Links to other information are provided at the end of this guide.

contact us

sign up


Join us

Get In Touch

Salford CVS & Volunteer Centre
Registered address 
The Old Town Hall 
5 Irwell Place 
Salford, M30 0FN

Tel: 0161 787 7795 
Email:
 office@salfordcvs.co.uk

Latest Blogs

I attended the Irlam Library Community Book Club on Tuesday 20th

In my role as the VCSE strategic lead for Living Well, I enjoy the opportunity

About

Salford CVS is the city-wide infrastructure organisation for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector; providing specialist information, advice, development support and opportunities for influence and collaboration.