The Care Act 2014 introduced legal rights for Carers. Regulations under the Care Act set out that an ‘assessment of need’ must be offered to all adults who undertake an informal/unpaid caring role to ensure that the needs of the whole family are considered.
Previously, Carers didn't have a legal right to receive support, although local authorities could provide support at their discretion. This meant that the ability to have an assessment and access a range of support varied depending on where you lived.
The Care Act gives local authorities a responsibility to assess a Carer's need for support. This replaced the law which said the Carer must be providing 'a substantial amount of care on a regular basis' to qualify for an assessment.
This means more Carers are now able to have an assessment. In Cumbria, local Carer Support Organisations, will assess whether the Carer has needs and what those needs may be on behalf of the local authority. This assessment will consider the impact of caring on the Carer.
It will also consider the things a Carer wants to achieve in their own day-to-day life as well as other important issues, such as whether the Carer:
The Care Act does not deal with the assessment of people under the age of 18 who care for others. However, Young Carers can be supported under the law relating to children. The Children and Families Act gives Young Carers (and Parent Carers) similar rights to assessment as other Carers have under the Care Act.