What is the Care Act?
The Care Act is a law about care and support for adults in England.
Before the Care Act, there were many different laws and pieces of government guidance about how care and support should be delivered. These could be confusing and made it difficult for people to find out what they are entitled to. The Care Act brings everything together under one law.
The act places new duties and responsibilities on councils for care and support for adults in their area. It also changes many aspects of how support is arranged, and aims to give greater control and influence to those in need of support.
Some key aims of the Care Act are to make sure that:
- everyone can get the information, advice and guidance they need to make good decisions about care and support
- people are supported to keep as well and independent as possible for as long as possible
- people can get the services they need to help prevent or delay their care needs from becoming more serious
- people can achieve the needs and goals that matter to them, and their wellbeing is the driving force behind their care and support
- there is a range of good quality care providers to choose from.
- the same eligibility threshold for receiving funded social care is applied across the whole country
different agencies cooperate and work together to improve people's wellbeing.
One of the biggest changes under the Care Act is that people who look after an adult relative or friend with care needs will have the same right to assessment and support as the people they care for.
See carer's assessments for further information.
The government has published factsheets to explain the different parts of the Care Act. There is also an easy read booklet about the act (PDF, 3MB).