The Care Act 2014 replaces previous laws and aims to promote well-being, enable independence, give people control over their lives, and support those in need. It establishes a new eligibility threshold and guarantees continuity of care. Brokerage and support planning will need to change to align with the Act's emphasis on personalization and well-being. Local authorities must now arrange care if requested and have a new deferred payments scheme. This document discusses gathering views on how brokerage and support planning should be delivered under the Care Act.

1. Care and support is changing
The Care Act 2014
Brokerage and Support Planning Focus Group
15 June 2015
Caroline May
Care Act Programme Lead

2. Background -
Previous laws
2
National
Assistance Act
1948
The Care Act replaces many previous laws including:

3. What is the Act
trying to achieve?
is clearer and fairer
promotes people’s wellbeing
enables people to prevent and delay the
need for care and support, and carers to
maintain their caring role
puts people in control of their lives so
they can pursue opportunities to realise
their potential
 A system that has been under pressure for
a long time
3

4. Wellbeing
The well-being principle and personalisation will
be at the heart of every decision that is made.
“The general duty of a local authority, … in the
case of an individual, is to promote that
individual’s wellbeing.”
Local authorities should also have regard to other key
principles when carrying out their activities, such as
beginning with the assumption that the individual is best-
placed to judge their well-being
4

5. Care Act Changes
5
Part 1 of the Act
 Carers have rights in the same way as those
whom they care for.
 The Act embeds rights to choice, personalised
care plans and personal budgets, and a range
of high quality services, available locally.
 Prevention, information & advice and
independent advocacy.
 Single national eligibility threshold.

6. Changes (cont.)
 Gives new guarantees to ensure continuity of
care when people move between areas.
 Includes new protections to ensure that no one
goes without care if their providers fails,
regardless of who pays for their care.
 Puts Adult Safeguarding Boards on a statutory
footing.
 National Deferred Payments Scheme from April
2015.
6

7. 7
Financial changes
- from April 2016
Subject to final regulations and guidance
Financial assessment threshold
•Currently £23,250
•£118,000 upper limit
•£17,000 lower limit
Cap on care costs:
• £72,000 for older people
• Lower for people of a working age
• £0 for 18 year olds
Compulsory national deferred payment
scheme

8. Brokerage
• Brokerage is the act of arranging and
coordinating the support needed to meet the
outcomes identified in a support plan, after a
care assessment has taken place.
8

9. Support Planning
• This is the process by which a person develops
a plan of the support they need, also defining
how they intend to meet individual goals,
within available resources.
• Resources include all that an individual has
available to them. Examples are social and
community networks, private finances, and
their indicative personal budget from the
Local Authority.
9

10. What the Care Act says:
• The duty on local authorities to meet eligible needs is
retained and widened by the Care Act 2014.
• Where a local authority has conducted a needs assessment
and made a determination that an adult has eligible needs for
care and support, it must meet the adult's needs for care and
support which meet the eligibility criteria in the following
circumstances:
(a) the adult is ordinarily resident in the authority's area or is
present in its area but of no settled residence;
(b) the adult's accrued costs do not exceed the cap on care
costs, and
(c) there is no charge for meeting the needs.
10

11. What the Care Act says:
• The Care Act 2014 enables a person who can afford to pay for
their own care and support in full to ask the local authority to
arrange their care on their behalf.
• This places a new duty on local authorities to arrange care
and support if requested.
• At the moment this applies to non-residential care and
support only, but will apply to residential care from April
2016.
11

12. Our thoughts
Our brokerage and support planning
functions will need to change.
We must be clear on our offer as a Local
Authority.
We need to consider how people might
want to be assisted in planning their care
and support.
12

13. Objective of today:
To gather your views on what
brokerage and support planning
should look like and how this could
be delivered.
13

14. Next Steps:
We will circulate notes from this session for
any further comment.
We will consider your views when drafting
our policy.
The policy shall be consulted upon during
the autumn.
We would like to continue to engage with
you as we work with the local marketplace in
light of the Care Act.
14

15. Plan for the session:
• Please discuss in groups the questions at the
foot of the paper on your tables.
• Your facilitator will gather feedback.
• We will then have a group discussion before
lunch.
15

16. Thank you
Caroline.May@Havering.gov.uk
01708 433671
The Council Care Act webpage is here:
www.havering.gov.uk/Careact
The Council information & advice website is here:
www.haveringcarepoint.org
16