Parliament, Great Britain

The Care Act aims to make the care and support system clearer and fairer for those who need it. It includes provision for a national minimum eligibility threshold, gives carers a legal right to assessment, and reforms the way that care is paid for. The Act also makes provision about care standards, establishes and make provision about Health Education England, to establish and makes provision about the Health Research Authority. The Act was passed on 14 May 2014 and comes into force in April 2015.

This Bill is to make provision about life long learning and education for the employment of carers and to place duties on local authorities and health bodies to achieve this.

This Act makes three main changes to the law with the objective of providing further support for carers and helping to ensure that they are not placed at a disadvantage because of the care they provide. First, the Act requires local authorities to inform carers, in certain circumstances, that they may be entitled to an assessment under the 1995 and 2000 Acts. Second, when undertaking a carer's assessment, the local authority must consider whether the carer works, undertakes any form of education, training or leisure activity, or wishes to do any of those things.