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The Care Act:Information & Advice

• Lucy Bonnerjea, July 2014

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The Care Act: Information & Advice

Local authorities will need to establish and maintain a comprehensive information and advice service about care and support services in their local area.

This will help people to understand: 1. How care and support services work locally

2. The care and funding options available

3. How people can access care and support services

4. Also how to prevent/ delay people’s need for support.

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Definitions

• Information = the communication of knowledge and facts about care and support

• Advice = helping a person to identify choices. Possibly including recommendations

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Wh

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Types of care and support available – e.g. specialised dementia care, befriending services, re-ablement, personal assistance, residential care etc.; The range of care and support services available to local people, i.e. what local providers offer certain types of services;

Processes local people need to use to get care and support;

Where local people can find independent financial advice about care and support and help them to access it;

How to raise concerns about the safety or wellbeing of someone who has care and support needs.

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What else?

Local authorities must help people to benefit from independent financial advice, so that they can get support to plan and prepare for the future costs of care.

All information and advice must be provided in formats that help people to understand, regardless of their needs.

Formats may include a range of different types of information, and include working with partners to provide information on different services together.

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Statutory Guidance supports the Act

The Act requires local authorities to establish and maintain an information and advice service in their area.

The information and advice service must cover the needs of all its population, not just those who are in receipt of care or support which is arranged or funded by the local authority.

Information and advice is fundamental to enabling people, carers and families to take control of and make well-informed choices about their care and support.

Not only does information and advice help to promote people’s wellbeing by increasing their ability to exercise choice and control, it is also a vital component of preventing or delaying people’s need for care and support.

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What does the Guidance cover?

Ensuring the availability of information and advice services for all people

Who in particular might benefit from information and advice

The local authority role with respect to financial information and advice

The accessibility and proportionality of information and advice

The development of plans/strategies to meet local needs

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Accessibility

• Must be open to everyone• Reasonable adjustments may be necessary• Various formats, including face to face contact• Various groups such as people with sensory impairments,

socially isolated, with LD, with mental health problems• Content: what is available; how to access it; chocies; how to

raise concerns

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Financial Information and advice

• Important so people can make well-informed choices about how they pay for their care

• LA should provide some of this themselves’ some of it should be provided independently; some by regulated

financial advice organisations;

So:• Some direct provision?• Some information should be independent of LAs• Some information should be from regulated financial

organisations – where it involves information about specific financial products

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Should include:

• Understanding care charges• Ways to pay• Money management• Making informed financial decisions• Facilitating access to independent financial information and

advice

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Careful!

• Large numbers of people with dementia no longer have capacity to make long term financial decisions themselves;

• Should not be asked to; should not be referred to organisations which might not recognise their lack of capacity to make financial decisions;

• Many need attorneys or deputies• Families cannot make financial decisions on behalf of people

who lack capacity to make financial decisions• Not can the LA unless they have a court order from the Court

of Protection

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A Plan or Strategy

• LAs need to develop and implement a plan regarding their information and advice services

• Should be aligned with CCG/Health services• Should be reviewed at agreed intervals• The review should be done with local people/ stakeholders• LAs should publish information about the effectiveness of

their information service

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Consultation Questions

Views are invited about how local authorities should coordinate and target information to those who have specific health and care and support needs?

Does the guidance provide sufficient clarity about the active role that local authorities should play to support people’s access to financial information and advice that is independent of the local authority, including regulated financial advisors?