Council Social Care Support

The Care Act 2014 replaced a complex web of old legislation with a single, unified legal framework for adult social care in England. Under it, councils have three broad categories of duty:

1. Wellbeing duty: Councils must promote the wellbeing of adults in their area, considering physical, mental, and emotional health; personal dignity; participation in work, education, and social activities; and protection from abuse or neglect.
2. Prevention duty: Councils must provide or arrange services that prevent, reduce, or delay people from developing care needs or deteriorating. This includes providing information and advice, and services available to all residents (sometimes called universal services).
3. Meeting needs duty: Where a person has needs that meet the national eligibility threshold, the council must meet those needs. This is a strong legal duty — it is not optional, and cannot be avoided simply because of budget pressures.

Even if you do not have eligible care needs, your council must provide free information and advice about the care and support system in your area. This includes information about financial advice, benefits, local care services, and how to access them.

Prevention services vary by area but may include:

• Reablement services to help you regain independence after illness;
• Community transport and befriending services;
• Equipment and home adaptations through occupational therapy;
• Day centres and social activities;
• Falls prevention programmes.

You do not need to be assessed as having eligible needs to access many of these services. Contact your council's adult social care department to find out what is available in your area.

Once your eligible needs are established and a care and support plan is agreed, the council must tell you how much money has been allocated to meet your needs — this is your personal budget. You have choices about how this is managed:

• Direct payment: The council pays the money to you (or a nominated person on your behalf) and you arrange your own care. This gives maximum flexibility — you can choose your own care workers, times, and services.
• Council-managed budget: The council commissions care services on your behalf using the personal budget.
• Combination: Part direct payment, part council-managed.

Direct payments are especially useful for people who want to employ their own personal assistants. The council can help you set up payroll and direct payment support services. Individual employers have full employment law responsibilities towards their personal assistants.

If you are unhappy with a decision the council has made about your care — such as refusing an assessment, setting too low a personal budget, or failing to produce a care plan — you can:

1. Raise it informally with your social worker or their manager;
2. Use the council's formal complaints procedure — the council must acknowledge and respond to complaints within a set timeframe;
3. Complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) if you are not satisfied with the council's response — the LGSCO can investigate maladministration and recommend remedies;
4. In serious cases, seek judicial review through the courts (specialist legal advice required).

Citizens Advice and Age UK can help you draft a complaint. The LGSCO publishes detailed guidance on the complaints it can investigate and its remedies.

The Care Act 2014 places a duty on councils to arrange independent advocacy in a number of specific situations, to ensure people can participate fully in assessments, care planning, and reviews. This is not a discretionary add-on — it is a legal requirement where the statutory criteria are met.

You are entitled to an independent advocate under the Care Act if:

• You are being assessed for care and support needs, having your care plan reviewed, or involved in a safeguarding enquiry or review;
• You experience substantial difficulty in understanding or participating in the process — for example, because of cognitive impairment, communication difficulties, or mental health conditions; and
• There is no appropriate person (such as a family member or friend) who is willing and able to support your involvement.

An independent advocate is not the same as a general advice worker. They are trained to support you in understanding the process, expressing your views, and ensuring those views are taken into account by the council. They are not there to make decisions for you or to represent a particular outcome — their role is to ensure your voice is heard.

If you believe advocacy should have been offered and was not, this is itself a complaint ground. The LGSCO has upheld complaints against councils for failing to arrange advocacy when required. If you are supporting someone through a care assessment who is struggling to engage with the process, ask the council explicitly about their advocacy duty — do not assume it will be offered automatically.

Separate to the Care Act advocacy duty, councils may also have access to NHS-funded Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCAs) for people who lack capacity and face serious decisions about medical treatment or care home moves. IMCAs are required by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in specific circumstances where the person lacks capacity and has no family or friends to consult.