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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.

The Act makes provision about children, families, and people with special educational needs. Specifically, it covers: adoption and children looked after by local authorities; family justice (e.g. mediation); children and young people in England with special educational needs; childminding agencies; the Children's Commissioner; statutory rights to leave and pay; time off work for ante-natal care; and the right to request flexible working.

The care that people receive at the end of their lives has a profound impact not only upon them but also upon their families and carers. At the most difficult of times, their experience will be made worse if they encounter poor communication and planning or inadequate professional expertise. The Health Committee has looked at the state of end of life care since the independent Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, and found great variation in quality and practice across both acute and community settings.