Care Act
Care is changing for the better in Nottinghamshire
The Care Act represents the biggest consolidation of social care legislation over the last 60 years; it brings existing social care law up-to-date and introduces some new duties and responsibilities for local authorities.
This short video, produced by Skills for Care, provides an overview of the Care Act:
What is changing?
Phase one of the Care Act was implemented in April 2015. This brought about changes including:
- A national eligibility threshold - this will mean that your eligibility won't be affected by where you live anymore
- A duty to provide information and advice to all citizens of Nottinghamshire
- If you care for someone, you will have the same rights to assessment and support as those you care for
- An increased emphasis on people's wellbeing and a formal duty to take steps to reduce or prevent care needs
- If you move between local authorities your care and support should continue without disruption (this is known as portability)
- If you are a young person with likely needs once you turn 18, you should be identified early
- Better integration between social care, housing and the NHS.
Further changes were expected to be implemented in April 2016 as a second phase of the Care Act which would largely affect how people paid towards their care and the cost of it. The Department of Health announced on 17 July 2015 that it was postponing these changes until April 2020.
Changes to social care and well being | from 1 April 2015 |
Integration between social care, housing and the NHS | by 1 April 2018 |
Changes to how you pay for care and support | by 1 April 2020 |
Find out more
For more information on the Care Act and further detail about the changes, download our Care Act FAQs [PDF].