A transition order has come into force as of the 1st April 2015 which states that local authorities must treat Needs Assessments which are ‘completed’ under after the 1st April 2015 as having been completed under the Care Act 2015. The order is clear regarding this matter which also states that is expects all cases to be reviewed in the following 12 months so that everyone comes within the scope of the Care Act 2015. If you have any issues regarding this please call our advice line for information.
The transition order can be found at the following web address:
In particular the order states the following: (taken from the introduction to the order, see the link above)
Transitional Order (see Annex A)
a. the local authority concludes the person does not have care and support needs that they are required to meet under the Care Act (for example because needs do not meet the eligibility criteria), and the authority does not intend to meet any of the person’s other needs; or
b. the local authority, having concluded that the person does have needs and that they are going to meet some or all of these needs, starts to do so (assuring itself that existing arrangements fully comply with the Care Act, making any adjustments as necessary).
iv. We will also make clear in guidance that local authorities must not use existing legislation to underpin care and support planning or provision after 1st April 2015 in respect of cases other than these transitional cases. The purpose of the saving in the Order is to enable local authorities only to continue with existing arrangements pending a review, so as to plan a managed transition over the first year.
So how do you know if your assessment has been completed?
The act states the answer to this in section 5 of the order as below, that either they state that a person has no needs to meet or, they have non elligible needs or if the person has elligible needs, that they agree they they are going to meet them.
(5) A local authority has completed a review in a person’s case when—
(a) they conclude that the person does not have needs for care and support or for support (as the case may be) in accordance with the Act;
(b) having concluded that the person has such needs and that they are going to meet some or all of them, they begin to do so; or
(c) having concluded that the person has such needs, they conclude that they are not going to meet any of those needs (whether because those needs do not meet the eligibility criteria or for some other reason).