The Care ActReforming care and support

Older People’s Provider Forum

11 February 2015

Vicky Smith, Head of Policy and Strategic Development

Changes from April 2015

• Eligibility and assessment

• Information and Advice, including how to access independent financial advice

• Safeguarding

• Deferred Payments

Information and advice• Every local authority must: “establish and maintain a service

for providing people in its area with information and advice relating to care and support for adults, and support for carers”.

• This does not mean that the local authority should provide all the elements itself. Instead, it should “understand, co-ordinate and make use of” the resources available across the community.

• The system should:

– be coherent

– be aimed at the whole population

– address a range of issues (including financial

advice)

Other changes in April 2015:• Legal duty to ensure smooth transition from children’s to

adults social care services

• A duty to ensure a wide range of good quality care and support services are available

• New protections to ensure that no one goes without care if their provider fails

• New legal right to a personal budget and direct payment

• New responsibilities for provision of care and support in prisons

• Extension of ordinary residence to extra care and supported living

Changes from April 2016:Government consultation - Cap on Care costs and Appeals

The cap on care costs• The Care Act says there should be a maximum

amount anyone should pay towards their care.• Care cost cap - from 2016 there will be:

– Zero cap for life for people up to age of 25 with an eligible care needs

– A cap on care costs of £72,000 for people aged 25 and above with eligible care needs

• The cap won’t count living costs, or any additional payments people choose to make.

• New provision for ‘top ups’

How the cap will work• Government’s consultation provides details about how

the cap will work, including what will count as a care cost.

• ‘Care accounts’ to set out the rate at which a person is progressing towards the cap.

• To apply, people will need to have an assessment to see if they meet the national eligibility threshold

• People who qualify will be given an independent personal budget of the care costs that will ‘count’ towards the cap.

• Guidance asks LAs to work with providers to identify self funders from October 2015

Charging for support• A new legal basis for charging

• A consistent approach to calculating someone’s contribution towards living costs in residential care (not included in the cap)

• The charging threshold for people who get care in their own home increases from £23,250 to £27,000

• The charging threshold for people who get residential care increases from £23,250 to £118,000

More information (2016 consultation)

•https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/care-act-2014-cap-on-care-costs-and-appeals

•Deadline for comments: 30th March 11.45pm

More information (Care Act)• Local, regional and national publicity

• Department of Health factsheets on the Care Act: gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-2014-part-1-factsheets

• National care and support reform implementation programme: local.gov.uk/care-support-reform

• The Care Act in full: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2013-14/care.html

• The Care Act in East Sussex: eastsussex.gov.uk/careact careact@eastsussex.gov.uk