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Chapter 5: The Assessment That's Actually About You

7 sources. Checked September 2026.

Every claim in this chapter is traced to the source behind it. Below is each one, numbered as it appears in the book, with a link that opens the original.

  1. Care Act 2014, s. 10(1)–(5) (legislation.gov.uk, read directly): "Where it appears to a local authority that a carer may have needs for support (whether currently or in the future), the authority must assess" whether the carer has such needs; the assessment must include whether the carer is able and willing to continue caring, and the outcomes the carer wishes to achieve in day-to-day life. In force 1 April 2015 under SI 2015/993, art. 2(a).
    www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/10
  2. Care Act 2014, s. 10(3) and (4) (read directly): "Carer" means an adult who provides or intends to provide care for another adult; the duty to assess "applies regardless of the authority's view of... the level of the carer's needs for support, or... the level of the carer's financial resources or of those of the adult needing care.".
    www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/10
  3. SCIE (Social Care Institute for Excellence), Care Act factsheet 4: Legal duties for a carer's assessment (accessed August 2026), corroborated directly against s. 10(1) and (4): there is no minimum eligibility threshold to receive an assessment; the duty applies "regardless of" the level of need, and needs are only measured against the national eligibility criteria afterward, under s. 13\.
    www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014/factsheets/care-act-factsheet-4-legal-duties-for-a-carers-assessment
  4. Carers UK, Carer's assessment guidance (accessed August 2026): assessments are free, with no means test to have one; typically last at least an hour and can be conducted face-to-face, online or by phone; councils are advised not to charge carers for support provided to the carer specifically.
    www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/carers-assessment
  5. SCIE, Care Act factsheet 4 (accessed August 2026), corroborated directly against s. 10(5)–(6): the required considerations are whether the carer is able and willing to continue caring, the impact on the matters specified in s. 1(2) (the carer's own wellbeing), the outcomes the carer wishes to achieve and whether the carer works or wishes to work, or to participate in education, training or recreation.
    www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014/factsheets/care-act-factsheet-4-legal-duties-for-a-carers-assessment
  6. Care Act 2014, s. 13(1) and (4)–(5) (read directly): a local authority satisfied a carer has needs for support "must determine whether any of the needs meet the eligibility criteria"; where some needs meet the criteria the authority must consider what could be done to meet them; where none do, the authority must give written advice and information about what could meet or reduce the needs. Regulations: the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015\.
    www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/13
  7. Nuffield Trust, What are carers in each of the four UK countries entitled to? (accessed August 2026), corroborated directly against each nation's own legislation (legislation.gov.uk). Wales. Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, s. 24: near-identical duty and structure to Care Act 2014 s. 10, applying to carers of an adult or disabled child. Scotland. Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, s. 6: right to an Adult Carer Support Plan on request or offer; s. 21: "Each local authority must set the local eligibility criteria which it is to apply in its area", confirming local, not national, thresholds (a Ministers' power to set national criteria instead exists under s. 23, but no such regulations have been made). Northern Ireland. Carers and Direct Payments Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, s. 1: right to request an assessment, which the authority "shall carry out"; s. 2(1)(c): once needs are identified, the authority decides "whether or not to provide services to the carer", confirming support is discretionary, not mandated, unlike England, Wales and Scotland.
    www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/what-are-carers-in-each-of-the-four-uk-countries-entitled-to

Sources for the other chapters are listed at ageingparent.co.uk/sources. Free guides on the topics in this book are at ageingparent.co.uk.