This course provides an introduction to, and an overview of, part one of the Care Act 2014 and its statutory guidance. The course is designed to help those involved in care and support services to understand and implement the Act.

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 and how they fund it. 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.

The assessment and eligibility process is one of the most important elements of the care and support system. The assessment is the key interaction between the local authority and an individual. It should not just be seen as a gateway to care and support, but should be a critical intervention in its own right, which can help people to understand their situation and access support when they require it.

The aim of the duty to provide independent advocacy is to enable people who have substantial difficulty in being involved in these local authority processes to be supported in that involvement as fully as possible, and where necessary to be represented by an advocate who speaks on their behalf.

The Care Act provides a single legal framework for charging for care and support. It enables a local authority to decide whether or not to charge a person when it is arranging to meet a person’s care and support needs or a carer’s support needs. The new framework is intended to make charging fairer and more clearly understood by everyone.

Deferring payment can help people to delay the need to sell their home (or other assets) and provide peace of mind during a time that can be challenging (or even a crisis point) for them and their loved ones as they make the transition into residential care.

The Care Act 2014 makes taking a person centred approach to care planning a legal requirement on local authorities. Person centred care and support planning puts people in the heart of their care and offers them the opportunity to take control and ownership of the process and outcomes of their plan.

Everyone whose needs are met by the local authority, whether those needs are eligible, or if the authority has chosen to meet other needs, must receive a personal budget as part of the care and support plan, or support plan.

The local authority must inform the person which, if any, of their needs may be met by a direct payment and provide appropriate information and advice on how to use and manage direct payments.

The Care Act 2014 makes taking a person centred approach to care planning a legal requirement on local authorities. Person centred care and support planning puts people in the heart of their care and offers them the opportunity to take control and ownership of the process and outcomes of their plan.

The term 'transition' is used in the Care Act to refer to the process of change for young people, and those around them, as they progress from childhood to adulthood. Transition is an essential part of human life and experience and can be a time of celebration, change and also challenge for young people.

Integration has been a cornerstone of public policy, particularly across health and social care for many years. The Care Act 2014 now makes integration, cooperation and partnership a legal requirement on Local authorities and on all agencies involved in public care.

Adult safeguarding is the process of protecting adults with care and support needs from abuse or neglect. It is an important part of what many public services do, but the key responsibility is with local authorities in partnership with the police and the NHS. The Care Act 2014 puts adult safeguarding on a legal footing.