Care Bill (HL Bill 1)

Part 1 Care and support

General responsibilities of local authorities

1 Promoting individual well-being

(1) 5The general duty of a local authority, in exercising a function under this Part in
the case of an individual, is to promote that individual’s well-being.

(2) “Well-being”, in relation to an individual, means that individual’s well-being
so far as relating to any of the following—

(a) physical and mental health, emotional well-being and personal dignity;

(b) 10protection from abuse and neglect;

(c) control by the individual over day-to-day life (including over care and
support, or support, provided to the individual and the way in which
it is provided);

(d) participation in work, education, training or recreation;

(e) 15social and economic well-being;

(f) domestic, family and personal relationships;

(g) suitability of living accommodation;

(h) the individual’s contribution to society.

(3) In exercising a function under this Part in the case of an individual, a local
authority must have regard to the following matters in particular—

(a) the importance of beginning with the assumption that the individual is
best-placed to judge the individual’s well-being;

(b) 5the individual’s views, wishes and feelings;

(c) the importance of preventing or delaying the development of needs for
care and support or needs for support and the importance of reducing
needs of either kind that already exist;

(d) the need to ensure that decisions about the individual are made having
10regard to all the individual’s circumstances (and are not based only on
the individual’s age or appearance or any condition of the individual’s
or aspect of the individual’s behaviour which might lead others to
make unjustified assumptions about the individual’s well-being);

(e) the importance of the individual participating as fully as possible in
15decisions relating to the exercise of the function concerned and being
provided with the information and support necessary to enable the
individual to participate;

(f) the importance of achieving a balance between the individual’s well-
being and that of any friends or relatives who are involved in caring for
20the individual;

(g) the need to protect people from abuse and neglect;

(h) the need to ensure that any restriction on the individual’s rights or
freedom of action that is involved in the exercise of the function is kept
to the minimum necessary for achieving the purpose for which the
25function is being exercised.

(4) “Local authority” means—

(a) a county council in England,

(b) a district council for an area in England for which there is no county
council,

(c) 30a London borough council, or

(d) the Common Council of the City of London.

2 Preventing needs for care and support

(1) A local authority must provide or arrange for the provision of services,
facilities or resources, or take other steps, which it considers will—

(a) 35contribute towards preventing or delaying the development by adults
in its area of needs for care and support;

(b) contribute towards preventing or delaying the development by carers
in its area of needs for support;

(c) reduce the needs for care and support of adults in its area;

(d) 40reduce the needs for support of carers in its area.

(2) In performing that duty, a local authority must have regard to—

(a) the importance of identifying services, facilities and resources already
available in the authority’s area and the extent to which the authority
could involve or make use of them in performing that duty;

(b) 45the importance of identifying adults in the authority’s area with needs
for care and support which are not being met (by the authority or
otherwise);

(c) the importance of identifying carers in the authority’s area with needs
for support which are not being met (by the authority or otherwise).

(3) Regulations may—

(a) permit a local authority to make a charge for providing or arranging for
5the provision of services, facilities or resources, or for taking other
steps, under this section;

(b) prohibit a local authority from making a charge it would otherwise be
permitted to make by virtue of paragraph (a).

(4) The regulations may in particular (in reliance on section 109(6)) make
10provision by reference to services, facilities or resources which—

(a) are of a specified type;

(b) are provided in specified circumstances;

(c) are provided to an adult of a specified description;

(d) are provided for a specified period only.

(5) 15A charge under the regulations may cover only the cost that the local authority
incurs in providing or arranging for the provision of the service, facility or
resource or for taking the other step.

(6) In cases where a local authority performs the duty under subsection (1) jointly
with one or more other local authorities in relation to the authorities’ combined
20area—

(a) references in this section to a local authority are to be read as references
to the authorities acting jointly, and

(b) references in this section to a local authority’s area are to be read as
references to the combined area.

(7) 25Sections 21 (exception for persons subject to immigration control), 22
(exception for provision of health services) and 23 (exception for provision of
housing etc.) apply in relation to the duty under subsection (1), but with the
modifications set out in those sections.

(8) “Adult” means a person aged 18 or over.

3 30Promoting integration of care and support with health services etc.

(1) A local authority must exercise its functions under this Part with a view to
ensuring the integration of care and support provision with health provision
and health-related provision where it considers that this would—

(a) promote the well-being of adults in its area with needs for care and
35support and the well-being of carers in its area,

(b) contribute to the prevention or delay of the development by adults in
its area of needs for care and support or the development by carers in
its area of needs for support, or

(c) improve the quality of care and support for adults, and of support for
40carers, provided in its area (including the outcomes that are achieved
from such provision).

(2) “Care and support provision” means—

(a) provision to meet adults’ needs for care and support,

(b) provision to meet carers’ needs for support, and

(c) 45provision of services, facilities or resources, or the taking of other steps,
under section 2.

(3) “Health provision” means provision of health services as part of the health
service.

(4) “Health-related provision” means provision of services which may have an
effect on the health of individuals but which are not—

(a) 5health services provided as part of the health service, or

(b) services provided in the exercise of social services functions (as defined
by section 1A of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970).

4 Providing information and advice

(1) A local authority must establish and maintain a service for providing people in
10its area with information and advice relating to care and support for adults and
support for carers.

(2) The service must provide information and advice on the following matters in
particular—

(a) the system provided for by this Part and how the system operates in the
15authority’s area,

(b) the choice of types of care and support, and the choice of providers,
available to those who are in the authority’s area,

(c) how to access the care and support that is available,

(d) how to access independent financial advice on matters likely to be
20relevant to adults who have needs for care and support or are making
plans for meeting needs for care and support that might arise, and

(e) how to raise concerns about the safety or well-being of an adult who
has needs for care and support.

(3) In providing information and advice under this section, a local authority must
25in particular seek to ensure that what it provides is sufficient to enable adults—

(a) to identify matters that are or might be relevant to their personal
financial position that could be affected by the system provided for by
this Part, and

(b) to make plans for meeting needs for care and support that might arise.

(4) 30Information and advice provided under this section must be accessible to, and
proportionate to the needs of, those for whom it is being provided.

(5) In cases where a local authority performs the duty under subsection (1) jointly
with one or more other local authorities by establishing and maintaining a
service for their combined area—

(a) 35references in this section to a local authority are to be read as references
to the authorities acting jointly, and

(b) references in this section to a local authority’s area are to be read as
references to the combined area.

5 Promoting diversity and quality in provision of services

(1) 40A local authority must promote the efficient and effective operation of a market
in services for meeting care and support needs with a view to ensuring that any
person in its area wishing to access services in the market—

(a) has a variety of providers to choose from who (taken together) provide
a variety of services;

(b) 45has a variety of high quality services to choose from;

(c) has sufficient information to make an informed decision about how to
meet the needs in question.

(2) In performing that duty, a local authority must have regard to the following
matters in particular—

(a) 5the need to ensure that the authority has, and makes available,
information about the providers of services for meeting care and
support needs and the types of services they provide;

(b) the need to ensure that it is aware of current and likely future demand
for such services and to consider how providers might meet that
10demand;

(c) the importance of enabling adults with needs for care and support, and
carers with needs for support, who wish to do so to participate in work,
education or training;

(d) the importance of ensuring the sustainability of the market (in
15circumstances where it is operating effectively as well as in
circumstances where it is not);

(e) the importance of fostering continuous improvement in the quality of
such services and the efficiency and effectiveness with which such
services are provided and of encouraging innovation in their provision.

(3) 20In having regard to the matters mentioned in subsection (2)(b), a local
authority must also have regard to the need to ensure that sufficient services
are available for meeting the needs for care and support of adults in its area and
the needs for support of carers in its area.

(4) In meeting an adult’s needs for care and support or a carer’s needs for support,
25a local authority must have regard to its duty under subsection (1).

(5) In cases where a local authority performs the duty under subsection (1) jointly
with one or more other local authorities in relation to persons who are in the
authorities’ combined area—

(a) references in this section to a local authority are to be read as references
30to the authorities acting jointly, and

(b) references in this section to a local authority’s area are to be read as
references to the combined area.

(6) “Services for meeting care and support needs” means—

(a) services for meeting adults’ needs for care and support, and

(b) 35services for meeting carers’ needs for support.

(7) The references in subsection (6) to services for meeting needs include a
reference to services, facilities or resources the purpose of which is to
contribute towards preventing or delaying the development of those needs.

6 Co-operating generally

(1) 40A local authority must co-operate with each of its relevant partners, and each
relevant partner must co-operate with the authority, in the exercise of—

(a) their respective functions relating to adults with needs for care and
support,

(b) their respective functions relating to carers, and

(c) 45functions of theirs the exercise of which is relevant to functions referred
to in paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) A local authority must co-operate, in the exercise of its functions under this
Part, with such other persons as it considers appropriate who exercise
functions, or are engaged in activities, in the authority’s area relating to adults
with needs for care and support or relating to carers.

(3) 5A local authority must make arrangements for ensuring co-operation
between—

(a) the officers of the authority who exercise the authority’s functions
relating to adults with needs for care and support or its functions
relating to carers,

(b) 10the officers of the authority who exercise the authority’s functions
relating to housing (in so far as the exercise of those functions is
relevant to functions referred to in paragraph (a)),

(c) the Director of Children’s Services at the authority (in so far as the
exercise of functions by that officer is relevant to the functions referred
15to in paragraph (a)), and

(d) the authority’s director of public health (see section 73A of the National
Health Service Act 2006).

(4) The references in subsections (1) and (3)(a) to a local authority’s functions
include a reference to the authority’s functions under sections 55 to 62
20(transition for children with needs etc.).

(5) The duties under subsections (1) to (3) are to be performed for the following
purposes in particular—

(a) promoting the well-being of adults with needs for care and support and
of carers in the authority’s area,

(b) 25improving the quality of care and support for adults and support for
carers provided in the authority’s area (including the outcomes that are
achieved from such provision),

(c) smoothing the transition to the system provided for by this Part for
persons in relation to whom functions under sections 55 to 62 are
30exercisable,

(d) protecting adults with needs for care and support who are
experiencing, or are at risk of, abuse or neglect, and

(e) identifying lessons to be learned from cases where adults with needs
for care and support have experienced serious abuse or neglect and
35applying those lessons to future cases.

(6) Each of the following is a relevant partner of a local authority—

(a) where the authority is a county council for an area for which there are
district councils, each district council;

(b) any local authority, or district council for an area in England for which
40there is a county council, with which the authority agrees it would be
appropriate to co-operate under this section;

(c) each NHS body in the authority’s area;

(d) the chief officer of police for a police area the whole or part of which is
in the authority’s area;

(e) 45the Minister of the Crown exercising functions in relation to prisons, so
far as those functions are exercisable in relation to England;

(f) a relevant provider of probation services in the authority’s area;

(g) such person, or a person of such description, as regulations may
specify.

(7) The reference to an NHS body in a local authority’s area is a reference to—

(a) the National Health Service Commissioning Board, so far as its
functions are exercisable in relation to the authority’s area,

(b) a clinical commissioning group the whole or part of whose area is in the
5authority’s area, or

(c) an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust which provides services in the
authority’s area.

(8) “Prison” has the same meaning as in the Prison Act 1952 (see section 53(1) of
that Act).

(9) 10“Relevant provider of probation services” has the meaning given by section 325
of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

7 Co-operating in specific cases

(1) Where a local authority requests the co-operation of a relevant partner, or of a
local authority which is not one of its relevant partners, in the exercise of a
15function under this Part in the case of an adult with needs for care and support
or in the case of a carer, the partner or authority must comply with the request
unless it considers that doing so would—

(a) be incompatible with its own duties, or

(b) otherwise have an adverse effect on the exercise of its functions.

(2) 20Where a relevant partner of a local authority, or a local authority which is not
one of its relevant partners, requests the co-operation of the local authority in
its exercise of a function in the case of an adult with needs for care and support
or in the case of a carer, the local authority must comply with the request unless
it considers that doing so would—

(a) 25be incompatible with its own duties, or

(b) otherwise have an adverse effect on the exercise of its functions.

(3) A person who decides not to comply with a request under subsection (1) or (2)
must give the person who made the request written reasons for the decision.

(4) “Relevant partner”, in relation to a local authority, has the same meaning as in
30section 6.

Meeting needs for care etc.

8 How to meet needs

(1) The following are examples of what may be provided to meet needs under
sections 18 to 20—

(a) 35accommodation in a care home or in premises of some other type;

(b) care and support at home or in the community;

(c) counselling and other types of social work;

(d) goods and facilities;

(e) information, advice and advocacy.

(2) 40The following are examples of the ways in which a local authority may meet
needs under sections 18 to 20—

(a) by arranging for a person other than it to provide a service;

(b) by itself providing a service;

(c) by making direct payments.

(3) “Care home” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Care Standards Act
2000.

Assessing needs

9 5Assessment of an adult’s needs for care and support

(1) Where it appears to a local authority that an adult may have needs for care and
support, the authority must assess—

(a) whether the adult does have needs for care and support, and

(b) if the adult does, what those needs are.

(2) 10An assessment under subsection (1) is referred to in this Part as a “needs
assessment”.

(3) The duty to carry out a needs assessment applies regardless of the authority’s
view of—

(a) the level of the adult’s needs for care and support, or

(b) 15the level of the adult’s financial resources.

(4) A needs assessment must include an assessment of—

(a) the impact of the adult’s needs for care and support on the matters
specified in section 1(2),

(b) the outcomes that the adult wishes to achieve in day-to-day life,

(c) 20whether, and if so to what extent, the provision of care and support
could contribute to the achievement of those outcomes, and

(d) whether, and if so to what extent, other matters (including, in
particular, the adult’s own capabilities and any support available to the
adult from friends, family or others) could contribute to the
25achievement of those outcomes.

(5) A local authority, in carrying out a needs assessment, must involve—

(a) the adult,

(b) any carer that the adult has, and

(c) any person whom the adult asks the authority to involve or, where the
30adult lacks capacity to ask the authority to do that, any person who
appears to the authority to be interested in the adult’s welfare.

(6) This section is subject to section 11(1) to (4) (refusal by adult of assessment).

10 Assessment of a carer’s needs for support

(1) Where it appears to a local authority that a carer may have needs for support
35(whether currently or in the future), the authority must assess—

(a) whether the carer does have needs for support (or is likely to do so in
the future), and

(b) if the carer does, what those needs are (or are likely to be in the future).

(2) An assessment under subsection (1) is referred to in this Part as a “carer’s
40assessment”.

(3) “Carer” means an adult who provides or intends to provide care for another
adult (an “adult needing care”); but see subsections (8) and (9).

(4) The duty to carry out a carer’s assessment applies regardless of the authority’s
view of—

(a) the level of the carer’s needs for support, or

(b) the level of the carer’s financial resources or of those of the adult
5needing care.

(5) A carer’s assessment must include an assessment of—

(a) whether the carer is able, and is likely to continue to be able, to provide
care for the adult needing care,

(b) whether the carer is willing, and is likely to continue to be willing, to do
10so,

(c) the impact of the carer’s needs for support on the matters specified in
section 1(2),

(d) the outcomes that the carer wishes to achieve in day-to-day life,

(e) whether, and if so to what extent, the provision of support could
15contribute to the achievement of those outcomes, and

(f) whether, and if so to what extent, other matters (including, in
particular, the carer’s own capabilities and any support available to the
carer from friends, family or others) could contribute to the
achievement of those outcomes.

(6) 20A local authority, in carrying out a carer’s assessment, must have regard to—

(a) whether the carer works or wishes to do so, and

(b) whether the carer is participating in or wishes to participate in
education, training or recreation.

(7) A local authority, in carrying out a carer’s assessment, must involve—

(a) 25the carer, and

(b) any person whom the carer asks the authority to involve.

(8) An adult is not to be regarded as a carer if the adult provides or intends to
provide care—

(a) under or by virtue of a contract, or

(b) 30as voluntary work.

(9) But in a case where the local authority considers that the relationship between
the adult needing care and the adult providing or intending to provide care is
such that it would be appropriate for the latter to be regarded as a carer, that
adult is to be regarded as such (and subsection (8) is therefore to be ignored in
35that case).

(10) The references in this section to providing care include a reference to providing
practical or emotional support.

(11) This section is subject to section 11(5) to (7) (refusal by carer of assessment).

11 Refusal of assessment

(1) 40Where an adult refuses a needs assessment, the local authority concerned is not
required to carry out the assessment (and section 9(1) does not apply in the
adult’s case).

(2) But the local authority may not rely on subsection (1) (and so must carry out a
needs assessment) if—