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The Care Act 2014 Reforming Care and Support Overview Vicky Smith Head of Policy and Strategic Development. A brief history of care and support law. Around 30 Acts of Parliament over more than 60 years:. National Assistance Act 1948: established the welfare state and abolished the Poor Laws.
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The Care Act 2014Reforming Care and SupportOverviewVicky SmithHead of Policy and Strategic Development
A brief history of care and support law Around 30 Acts of Parliament over more than 60 years: National Assistance Act 1948: established the welfare state and abolished the Poor Laws NHS and Community Care Act 1990: first major Government reform, including right to assessments Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996: new powers to make direct payments Health and Social Care Act 2001: updates on direct payments 1948 1960… 1970… 1980… 1990… 2000… 2010… Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970: major reforms, providing entitlement to community services Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995: the first Act to recognise carers Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000: extending direct payments to carers Department of Health
Background to the Care Act Part 1 of the Care Act sets out to reform adult care and support in England: • Delivers many of the commitments in the White Paper Caring for our Future • Provides for a new capped costs system for funding care and support, based on the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission • Achieves a fundamental reform in its own right, to simplify and clarify over 60 years of legislation, following the recommendations of a three-year review by the Law Commission
The Care Act: principles • “Ensures that people’s wellbeing, and the outcomes which matter to them, are at the heart of every decision that is made. • Puts carers on the same footing as those they care for. • Creates a new focus on preventing and delaying needs for care and support, rather than only intervening at crisis point. • Puts personal budgets on a legislative footing for the first time, which people can receive as direct payments if they wish.”
The Care Act 2014: duties Duties fall into one of three categories: • New in law and practice • New in law but not in policy • Consolidating or modernising existing law
Care Act 2014 part 1: General duties - from April 2015 • To promote individual wellbeing • To prevent or delay development of care and support needs (or reduce), including carers’ support needs • To cooperate with relevant authorities
Eligibility and assessment • Introduces a national minimum eligibility threshold • New assessment regulations • Changes to ensure continuity of care when adults move between areas • Duty to carry out assessments for all carers regardless of client eligibility
Advice and information • Duty to provide people in the area with information and advice relating to care and support for adults and support for carers • Includes telling people where they can get independent financial advice about how to fund their care and support • New duties to provide independent advocacy to help people to be involved in key processes, such as assessments, reviews and safeguarding enquiries
Deferred payments • New national deferred payments scheme • Everyone in a care home who meets the eligibility criteria will be able to ask for a deferred payment regardless of whether or not the local authority pays for their care. • Councils will be able to charge interest on loans to ensure they run on a cost neutral basis
Other provisions • The first statutory framework for protecting adults from abuse and neglect • Duty to join up care and support with health and housing • Duty to ensure a wide range of care and support services are available • New protections to ensure that no one goes without care if their providers fails, regardless of who pays for their care • New legal right to a personal budget and direct payment
Funding reform - from April 2016 • Introduces a cap on care costs: • achieved by creating care accounts • set at £72,000 in 2016 for those at pension age and above • no contribution expected for young people entering adulthood with an eligible care need • lower cap for adults of working age (level to be determined) • Establishes independent personal budgets for self funders who meet the eligibility criteria and want a care account
Charging - from April 2016 • New legal basis for charging • Consistent approach towards calculating a contribution towards living costs for people in residential care (not included in the cap) • Increase in the capital charging threshold for people receiving residential care from £23,250 to £118,000
Implementation: national • Care Act became law on 14 May 2014. • Consultation on regulations and statutory guidance (the detail) for the duties that come into force in April 2015 published on 6 June 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/updating-our-care-and-support-system-draft-regulations-and-guidance • Care and Support Reform Programme: • The Local Government Association (LGA), • Association of Directors & Adult Social Services (ADASS) • Department of Health