Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the report, Disabled people’s experiences of social care, published by the disability charity Scope in November 2015.
Alistair Burt
The Department welcomes the report which was funded by the Department, NHS England and Public Health England, as part of the Health and Social Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partnership Programme. The Department and its partners will use the findings of the report to review relevant policies to improve experiences and outcomes for people with disabilities.
The Care Act 2014 put personal budgets on a legal basis for the first time, including for disabled people and carers. This drives a focus on personalisation and increases opportunities for greater control and independence, so that people can choose care and support best suited to their needs.
The Care Act 2014 introduced a new national eligibility threshold which enables local authorities to maintain continuity of access to support for service users who move between local authorities. This threshold is set out in the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015, and local authorities cannot tighten eligibility criteria beyond this threshold.
The Care Act 2014 contains a new duty for local authorities to provide independent advocacy to facilitate and support a person’s involvement in the care and support assessment, planning and review processes. Local authorities must also establish and maintain a service that provides information and advice relating to care and support for adults and support for carers.
