Guidance

Coronavirus (COVID-19): changes to the Care Act 2014

Changes to the Care Act 2014 to help local authorities prioritise care and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

• From: Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 31 March 2020
• Last updated: 29 June 2021 — See all updates

This publication was withdrawn on 22 July 2021

The Care Act easements provision in the Coronavirus Act 2020 expired on 16 July 2021 and is no longer in force.

Applies to England

Documents

Care Act easements: guidance for local authorities

HTML

Care Act easements: supporting guidance

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Care Act easements notification form

ODT, 33.9 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Details

Regulations to expire the Care Act easements were laid on 21 April 2021 using the draft affirmative procedure. These regulations will come into force when approved in Parliament.

This guidance will be withdrawn when the regulations come into force.

The guidance sets out how local authorities can use the new Care Act provisions, created under the Coronavirus Act 2020, to prioritise care and support for those who need it most.

The provisions are temporary and should only be used when it is not possible for local authorities to comply with their duties under the Care Act 2014.

This guidance must be read alongside the ethical framework for adult social care.

Published 31 March 2020
Last updated 29 June 2021 + show all updates

1. 29 June 2021

   Added a note to say that regulations to expire the Care Act easements were laid on 21 April 2021 using the draft affirmative procedure and will come into force when approved in Parliament. In the additional guidance, added a link to the TLAP Insight Group full report and removed the link to the LGA and ADASS FAQs on COVID-19 and safeguarding adults.

2. 1 September 2020

   'Care Act easements: guidance for local authorities' has been updated to include reference to advocates, introduce the Care Act easements notification form and reflect changes to other published guidance. The Care Act easements notification form and 'Care Act easements: supporting guidance' have been added to the page.

3. 20 May 2020

   In Section 6, added local MPs to the list of people to whom the decision to exercise Care Act easements should be communicated. Added a paragraph at the end of Section 6 listing who the local authorities' information will be shared with and how to find out details of which local authorities are operating under easements. Added a link to guidance on direct payments in Annex B.

4. 1 April 2020

   Added email address at the end of section 6.

5. 31 March 2020

   First published.