Adult eligibility for social care services

Accessing adult social care

If you have a disability or have been in an accident, been ill, or you have found you are not managing we may be able to support you regain abilities and maintain your independence. 

Assessing your needs

An assessment means having a conversation about you and your life. We will talk with you about your current situation, the effect this might have on your wellbeing and the outcomes you want to achieve. This helps us to understand what your needs are and how help you plan for your future. 

During the conversation, we will talk to you about information and advice, which may help you manage your needs and maintain your independence, including information about services available in your community to help prevent, reduce and delay. 

You can also let us know about your care and support needs online if you prefer not to have a conversation.

Determining eligibility

After the conversation has taken place, a decision can then be made about whether you have eligible needs and if you are entitled to care and support arranged by the local authority. This criteria is used by adult social care services nationally and is set by the Government.  

A person will have eligible needs if they meet all of the following criteria: 

• they have care and support needs as a result of a physical or mental impairment or illness
• they cannot achieve two or more of the outcomes specified in the regulations because of those needs
• there is, or is likely to be, a significant impact on their wellbeing as a result

We will tell you about our decision, explain our reasoning and provide you with copies of both the assessment and eligibility determination. 

Having your needs met by the local authority

You are entitled to have support to meet your needs from the local authority if: 

• you have 'eligible' needs
• you are 'ordinarily resident' in the local area (this means your established home is there)
• one of these five situations apply to you:
  1. The type of care and support you need is provided free of charge.
  2. You cannot afford to pay the full cost of your care and support.
  3. You ask the local authority to meet your needs.
  4. You do not have mental capacity, and have no one else to arrange care for you.
  5. When the cap on care costs comes into force, your total care and support costs have exceeded the cap.

If you have eligible needs, and you want the local authority’s help to meet them, then we (the authority) will help to develop a care and support plan with you.  

If you need to pay

We will discuss whether you will need to pay towards the cost of support. This depends on your income and savings and is determined through a financial assessment. 

Further help

Whether you are eligible or not, we will give you advice and information about what support is available in the community to help you.  

This could be help from local charities or voluntary organisations. We may also be able to provide you with Telecare or other equipment to help you to stay independent. 

If your needs change

If your needs change, you can always ask for a reassessment. To do this, either speak to your social care worker or contact us.