Care Act 2014

The Care Act came into force in April 2015 and helps to make care and support more consistent across the country.

The new national changes are designed to put you in control of the help you receive.

Any decisions about your care and support will consider your well-being and what is important to you and your family, so you can stay healthy and remain independent for longer.  

The help some adults need to live as independently as possible with any illness or disability they may have. It can include help with things like getting out of bed, washing, dressing, getting to work, cooking meals, eating, seeing friends, caring for families and being part of the community.

It might also include emotional support at a time of difficulty and stress, helping people who are caring for an adult family member or friend or even giving others a lift to a social event.

• Carer: Someone (aged 18 or over) who helps another person in their day to day life, usually a relative or friend, who could not manage without that support. This is not the same as someone who provides care professionally or through a voluntary organisation.
• Parent Carer: A parent, or other adult with parental responsibility, who cares for a child or young person who requires more care than other children or young people of the same age.
• Young Carer: Children or young people who care for another person. This may be someone in their family who needs looking after because they have a disability or an illness. It could be a brother or sister or a parent or grandparent. Young carers should not have to do so much caring that it makes them upset, unwell or miss school.

It will affect you if you receive care and support from your council or another organisation, either at home or in a care home.  Or if you give unpaid care and support to an adult family member or friend.  It may affect if you think you  may need care and support in the near future, either for your or for someone you help.

The Gov.uk website has lots of information on its Care and Support (opens new window) and you section. You can also visit the Your Care Your Support Wiltshire (opens new window) Wiltshire portal.

The person will have eligible needs if they meet all of the following:

• They have care and support needs as a result of a physical or mental condition
• because of those needs, they cannot achieve two or more of the outcomes specified
• as a result, there is a significant impact on their wellbeing.

The outcomes are specified in the regulations, and include people's day-to-day outcomes such as dressing maintaining personal relationships, and working or going to school

A personal budget is the money the council allocates to an individual to meet their eligible support needs.  Your personal budget is based on the 'eligible needs'   Eligible needs are those which the local council's policy says it has a duty to support you with.

You will have an 'outcome based assessment' which will set out whether you are eligible for council funded support and establishes an approximate figure that the council estimates will be required to meet your eligible care and support needs. This is known as an indicative budget.

The council or a provider commissioned by the council will then work with you in order to develop a care and support plan based on your indicative budget. When this process is finished you will have a personal budget setting out the costs of meeting your care and support needs based on the support plan created.

Your personal budget can be spent on

• your eligible needs
• In ways that maximise your health, wellbeing, safety and independence
• In a legal, reasonable and efficient manner
• If you have eligible care and support needs you may be required to contribute to the cost of your support

It was announced by the Department of Health in July 2015 that the phase two implementation of the Care Act (2014) will be postponed. No date has been announced for it to be implemented.

You can ask for an assessment of your needs at any time. Please contact 0300 456 0111 or visit Your Care Your Support Wiltshire (opens new window)

Deferred payments, previously called Home Loans, exist to help a person pay residential care home fees, without the need to sell their own home. They cannot currently be used to pay for care costs for people currently living in their own home.

Everyone can ask to be considered for a deferred payment but there is a criteria about who can have one. A person has to have been assessed as having eligible care and support needs and have savings of less than £23,250.