The Care Act

The Care Act is a new law that will come into action from April 2015, helping to make care and support more consistent across the country.

Care and support

'Care and support' is the term used to describe the help some adults need to live as well as possible with an illness, disability or because they are older. It can include help with things like getting out of bed, washing, dressing, getting to work, cooking meals, eating, seeing friends, caring for families and being part of the community.

It might also include emotional support at a time of difficulty and stress, helping people who are caring for an adult family member or friend or even giving others a lift to a social event.

Care and support includes the help given by family and friends, as well as any provided by the council or other organisations.

Your wellbeing

Many of us will need care and support at some point in our lives and most people will pay at least something towards the cost of their care. The new national changes are designed to help you plan for the future and put you more in control of the help you receive. Any decisions about your care and support will consider your wellbeing and what is important to you and your family, to help you stay healthy and remain independent for longer.

You could benefit from the changes if you:

receive care and support
support someone as a carer
are planning for future care and support

In April 2015 the Care Act will introduce:

A new national level of care and support needs – This will make the criteria for deciding who can receive some help more consistent across the country. The new national level is very similar to the level that is in place in Rotherham now.
Advocacy support during assessments – This will mean that those who have a substantial difficulty understanding or communicating what they want to say can request an independent advocate.
Involvement in support planning – This will mean that those eligible to receive care and support will be involved in putting together a care and support plan and deciding how their budget is spent to meet their needs.
New support for carers – This is to make it easier for carers to get direct help with caring.
New deferred payment agreements for residential care costs – This will allow flexible agreements to allow people to delay payments of care home costs and use the value of their home as security.
Young people approaching the age of 18 - this is transitional support for a child, young carer or adult caring for a child approaching 18 yrs – This will help young people and their families achieve the best outcome in adulthood.
New Safeguarding legislation – This will provide protection to adults and their rights to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.
Improved information and advice – This will ensure that people get the information and advice early and help to make informed choices about care and support.

More changes to the way people pay for care and support will be introduced in 2016. These will protect people with the highest needs from facing unlimited costs and provide more financial support to people with modest means.

Changes include:

A lifetime cap on care costs – This will ensure protect people from unlimited care and support costs.
Extended financial support – This will ensure that more people are eligible for help with care and support costs.
New duties on the Local Authority to make sure that there is a wide range of good care and support services available for you to choose from when you need them.

For more information on the changes please visit https://www.gov.uk/careandsupport?gclid=COjL2dXs-sMCFfDKtAod6TQATQ