The Care Act

The Care Act 2014 came into force in April 2015. The act places general duties on local authorities for:

• promoting people's wellbeing
• focusing on prevention
• providing a universal information and advice service

It also included:

• the introduction of a consistent, national eligibility criteria for social care support
• new rights to support for carers, on an equivalent basis to the people they care for
• legal right to a personal budget and direct payment
• the extension of local authority adult social care responsibility to include prisons
• new responsibilities around:
  • transition
  • provider failure
  • supporting people who move between local authority areas
  • safeguarding

For more detail see Care Act 2014 Part 1: factsheets.