The Care Act

The Care Act came into force in April 2015.  The Act places general responsibilities on local authorities for promoting people's wellbeing, focusing on prevention and 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, and
• New responsibilities around transition, provider failure, supporting people who move between local authority areas and safeguarding.

Our seven minute animated video gives a simple summary of the Care Act and what it means for Surrey.

Detailed guidance

More detail on the Care Act from the Department of Health is available through the following links:

1. The Care Act 
2. Department of Health Factsheets on the Care Act

Guidance and support for independent adult social care providers and providers of preventative services, is available on the Local Government Association website.

Useful documents

• Care Act and revoked legislation (PDF)
• Social Care for prisoners policy (PDF)
• Deferred payment agreements policy (PDF)