City of York Council’s Cabinet will consider plans for how customers paying for adult social care will be charged under the new Care Act 2014 legislation at a meeting later this month (16 December).
The Care Act is the biggest change to how social care is delivered for over 60 years, and will lead to significant changes for the council, partner organisations and providers (including the voluntary sector), service users and carers. The changes will be implemented in two phases – April 2015 and April 2016.
The Care Act brings together best practice around personalisation and makes people’s rights to direct payments and a personal budget statutory, provisions that are already available in most local authorities, including York.
Some important changes in Phase 1 of the Act include;
- · A national minimum eligibility criteria for service users and carers.
- · The right to an assessment, support plan and personal budget regardless of personal financial circumstances.
- · Carers are placed on an equal footing with those for whom they care for and can access an assessment against the eligibility criteria to identify what needs the person may have and what outcomes they are looking to achieve. The purpose of the assessment will support the determination of whether needs are eligible for care and support from the local authority.
Important changes in Phase 2 from April 2016 include-
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