Duties and Powers to meet Care and Support Needs

A person may already be in receipt of care and support which meets their needs. For example, needs may be met by a carer, in an educational establishment or by another institution other than the local authority. In these circumstances the Local Authority remains under a duty to meet the person's eligible needs but if the Local Authority is satisfied that the existing method of meeting the needs is meeting the person's eligible needs, then they may not actually have to arrange or provide any services to comply with that duty.

Should the support and/or services in place become inappropriate or unstainable the Local Authority must then meet the need.

Under Section 19 of the Care Act the Local Authority has the power following a needs assessment to:

1. Meet needs that have not been determined as eligible using the national eligibility criteria (normally for the purpose of prevention or delay); or
2. Arrange for services to meet the eligible needs of a person with financial resources above the upper financial limit who is going into a care home; so long as;
3. The person is ordinarily resident in the Local Authority area or present in the area with no settled residence.

The Local Authority also has the power to meet needs without having carried out an assessment, made a determination about eligible needs or assessed financial resources when the need for Care and Support is urgent.

Section 19 powers also apply to people who are ordinarily resident in the area of another Local Authority but have a need for Care and Support (whether this is urgent or non-urgent).

When deciding to provide Care and Support to people who are ordinarily resident in another area the Local Authority must notify the other Local Authority of their intention to do so. This enables them to seek financial reimbursement of the cost in meeting the need.

For further information see Ordinary Residence.

If the Local Authority decides not to use its powers to meet needs, it must give the person (or their representative) a written explanation for taking this decision (unless it has already provided such an explanation following assessment). This explanation must be accessible to the person and include information and advice on how the person can reduce or delay their needs in future. This should be personal and specific advice based on the person's needs assessment and not a generalised reference to prevention services or signpost to a general web-site. For example, this should involve consideration of alternative ways in which a person could reduce or delay their care and support needs, including signposting to support within the local community.

Where the Local Authority is meeting some needs, but not others, the person must receive a Care and Support plan for the needs that are going to be met, and a written explanation for the needs that are not.

Under Section 21 of the Care Act the Local Authority must not meet the needs of any person who is subject to Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and whose needs for Care and Support have arisen solely because:

1. They are destitute; or
2. Because of the physical effects, or anticipated physical effects of being destitute.

Under Section 22 of the Care Act the Local Authority must not meet a person's eligible needs by providing or arranging services or support that are the responsibility of the NHS to provide under the National Health Service Act 2006, unless:

1. Doing so would be merely incidental or ancillary (secondary) to doing something else to meet eligible needs; and
2. The service or facility in question would be of a nature that the Local Authority could be expected to provide.

Under Section 23 of the Care Act, adult Care and Support may not meet needs under Section 18 or Section 19 by doing anything that it is the responsibility of:

1. Another Local Authority under the Housing Act 1996; or
2. The same Local Authority under the Housing Act 1996.