Assessments

Social services may decide, after carrying out assessments, that they can provide services for the person you're looking after or for yourself as their carer.

Services for the person you're looking after

The community care assessment for the person you are looking after may identify that they need services or support. The fact that they receive help (such as care workers or aids and adaptations) may make your role as a carer easier but they are regarded as services supplied to the person you're looking after, rather than to yourself.

If the person you're looking after is identified as needing services, they will have their own financial assessment to find out if they need to make a contribution. Your own finances will not normally be taken into account.

Services for you as a carer

Following a carer’s assessment, social services may agree that you need particular services to support you in your caring role. If that is the case, you will have your own financial assessment and the finances of the person you're looking after will not normally be taken into account.

When it comes to deciding whether to provide services, there is an important difference between services for the person you are looking after and services for yourself. Where they identify is a need, social services has a duty to give services to the person you are looking after. A decision to give you any services as a carer is discretionary; social services has powers to give you services but not a duty to do so.

Respite care

Respite care may appear to be a service for you as a carer, but social services see it as a community care service. So it is the person you are looking after who will have a financial assessment for respite care.

Eligibility criteria

A crucial part of your carer’s assessment will involve social services considering whether there is any risk that your caring role could break down. The risk is graded as:

• critical,
• substantial,
• moderate, or
• low.

Examples

Example one

Sam is a carer for his wife but has developed his own very serious health problems and needs to go into hospital. The risk of his caring role breaking down has become critical.

Example two

Nita is a carer for her disabled son. She sometimes has difficulty fitting her work commitments around her caring role and also in arranging short breaks for herself. In this situation the risk of her caring role breaking down would probably be moderate.

Common questions

Will I get services if risk is critical or substantial?

The decision to provide services for you (as a carer) would still be discretionary, even if the risk of your caring role breaking down is critical or substantial. However, in practice, if there is a serious risk to your role as a carer the person you're looking after is likely to have a critical or substantial need for community care services. In this case, social services would have a duty to meet their needs.

If services are discretionary, am I unlikely to get help?

No, you should still expect social services to give serious consideration to any requests you make for services. Even if there is no immediate risk of your caring role breaking down, being a carer can take its toll in the long term. You could point out that if support and services are made available to you now, it could prevent your caring role breaking down in the future.

It is good practice for social services to realise that you need help to maintain your physical and psychological wellbeing.

They must consider your needs as far as employment, leisure and training are concerned.

They should have a flexible attitude about the way in which they can meet your needs. They should not have a 'one size fits all' approach, but instead take a careful look at your individual circumstances and needs.

A direct payment from social services is money that will be paid to you so that you can buy care services.

The aim of a direct payment is to give more flexibility in how services are provided. By getting money in lieu of social care services, people have greater choice and control over their lives, and can make their own decisions about how their care is delivered.

Decisions about direct payments

The decision to award a direct payment takes place after an assessment by social services. If the outcome of the assessment is that services should be provided you have a right to ask for a direct payment instead of having the service arranged by social services.

Example

Janet has a community care assessment that results in a care plan indicating that she needs the help of a care worker six hours a week. Her local authority could either arrange to send their own choice of care worker or give Janet a direct payment so that she can employ a worker of her own choosing.

Choosing a direct payment

In most cases, you have a right to be offered a direct payment. The choice of a direct payment is voluntary. You cannot be forced to have a direct payment. There are advantages and disadvantages to this method of arranging and paying for care.

Some people are not allowed to have direct payments. In general, the person receiving a direct payment has to have sufficient mental capacity to consent to it. However, they may be able to have a direct payment even if they do not understand in detail what it means or they will need help from someone else to manage the payment.

Managing direct payments

When you receive a direct payment, there will be various obligations. These include:

• Keeping records and accounting to social services for how the money is spent.
• A person who uses their direct payment to pay for a care worker takes on the legal role of an employer and has all the legal responsibilities which go with that. There may be help available from local organisations to manage the administration involved and other responsibilities.
• In some cases, e.g. where the person receiving the direct payment lacks the mental capacity, a user controlled trust could be set up to take over the management of the payment.

If you have a carer’s assessment and you need support, social services may agree to help you with services or give you a direct payment so that you can buy in the services.

The local authority has the power to charge a fee whenever services are provided, either directly or by direct payment. Some local authorities do not make any charges for carers’ services. If they do, they would carry out a financial assessment when deciding whether or not to charge you.

In a financial assessment, local authorities must take into account that you can only be charged for services provided to you, not for services that are for the person you are looking after. Social services can ignore various costs when looking at your income. These include:

• Any cost of paying privately for care for the person you are looking after so that, for instance, you can take a short break or have someone to take your place while you are at work.
• The cost of any adaptations you have made to your own home, which are for the benefit of the person you are looking after.
• Any additional costs, such as taxi fares, which are needed so that you can provide care.
• Additional costs for cleaning and laundry provided by you for the person you are looking after.

Social services can, in theory, include Carer’s Allowance as part of your income but do not have to do so.

Your earnings should be ignored. Savings can be taken into account, but not the value of the property in which you live. If a charge is made, it should not reduce your income below a basic level equivalent to Income Support plus 25%.