Legal Requirements of a Needs Assessment

The statutory guidance emphasizes that people should be active partners in key Care and Support processes, of which assessment is one (the others being Care and Support planning, review and any enquiries relating to abuse or neglect). This is because people are seen under the Act as best placed to judge and make decisions about their own Wellbeing.

The involvement of the person in any assessment about them is therefore of paramount importance under the Care Act and the Local Authority must take practicable steps to ensure their involvement and that they remain central to the process and any decisions made about them (or that will affect them). This includes having effective processes and suitably trained staff in place.

Involvement means expressing wishes and feelings, weighing up options and making decisions and these things apply regardless of how complex a person's needs appear to be.

Having a duty to ensure the person’s involvement does not mean that every person being assessed must be involved in the exact same way, instead that the approach to assessment must be person-centred, supporting the person to have as much choice and control over the nature and level of their involvement as is reasonably possible. Some people will want to be more involved than others, and some people will find being involved easier than others. However, in all cases the Local Authority must encourage the person to be as involved as they can be and be flexible in their approach to assessment in order to facilitate this.

In regard to flexibility the statutory guidance states that the Local Authority should be prepared to:

1. Adapt the format, style and nature of the assessment;
2. Adapt communication, including providing interpreters where needed;
3. Be flexible about how long the assessment may take; and
4. Consider making available an advocate to support the person to be involved.

In certain situations, the Local Authority has a duty under the Care Act to make independent advocacy available to the person. To understand statutory responsibilities in relation to advocacy see The Duty to Provide an Independent Advocate section of this guide.

Where it appears to the Local Authority that a person may have needs for Care and Support, the Authority must assess:

1. Whether they do have needs for Care and Support; and
2. If so, what those needs are.

The duty to carry out a needs assessment applies regardless of the Local Authority's view of:

1. The level of need for Care and Support; or
2. The level of their financial resources.

The Local Authority, in carrying out a needs assessment, must involve:

1. The person;
2. Any carer that the person has;
3. Anyone else that the person asks the Local Authority to involve; and
4. Where the person lacks capacity, any person who appears to the Local Authority to be interested in their welfare.

Where the person has particular needs that are outside the expertise of the person carrying out the assessment, other professionals with suitable expertise may need to be involved. Indeed, there are specific requirements when assessing adults who are deaf-blind or who have Autism.

A needs assessment must include an assessment of:

1. The impact of the person's needs for Care and Support on their Wellbeing;
2. The outcomes that the person wishes to achieve in day-to-day life; and
3. Whether, and if so to what extent, the provision of Care and Support could contribute to the achievement of those outcomes.

The Local Authority must also consider:

1. Whether, and if so to what extent, matters other than the provision of Care and Support could contribute to the achievement of the outcomes that the person wishes to achieve in day-to-day life;
2. Whether the person would benefit from the provision of information and advice;
3. Whether the person would benefit from support or services that would prevent, reduce or delay the need for Care and Support; and
4. Whether the person would benefit from anything which may be available in the community.

The Local Authority must also consider whether the person might be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare. Where it appears that may be the case, the Local Authority must refer the person to the relevant NHS body.

Information about the assessment process should (wherever possible) be provided to the person before the assessment starts and in an accessible format.

The assessment process in all cases must be transparent and understandable so that the person is able to participate in it as effectively as possible and:

1. Understand their own needs, the outcomes they want to achieve and the impact of their needs on their own Wellbeing;
2. Start to identify the options that are available to them to meet those outcomes and to support their independence and Wellbeing; and
3. Understand the basis on which decisions are reached.

For information about the duty to promote Wellbeing and what this means please see the Promoting Individual Wellbeing section of this resource.

For Information about the duty to prevent, reduce or delay the need for Care and Support, please see the Preventing Needs for Care and Support section of this resource.