What it is
Under the Care Act 2014 the local authority has a duty to assess any adult who appears to have care and support needs, regardless of their financial position. The assessment looks at how the person manages day-to-day life and what would help. It is separate from the financial assessment that decides who pays.
The assessment is sometimes called a community care assessment. The result is either a care and support plan setting out what the council will provide, or a written explanation that the person does not meet the national eligibility threshold but still has access to information, advice and preventive services.
How to request one
Anyone can ask the council to assess someone. You do not need to be the person being assessed. Family members, friends, neighbours, GP surgeries, and hospital teams routinely make the referral. Contact the adult social care team of the council area where the person lives.
There is no waiting list in the strict sense, but practice varies. Routine assessments may be scheduled weeks ahead. Urgent ones, particularly hospital discharges, are handled much faster. If you are in a hurry, ask whether the request is being treated as urgent and on what grounds.
An advocate can be present during the assessment. Where the person has substantial difficulty being involved in the process and no appropriate friend or family member is available, the council has a duty to provide an independent advocate at no cost.
What the assessor asks about
The Care Act sets out outcomes that the assessment must consider. Working through them:
- Managing and maintaining nutrition
- Maintaining personal hygiene
- Managing toilet needs
- Being appropriately clothed
- Being able to make use of the home safely
- Maintaining a habitable home environment
- Developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships
- Accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering
- Making use of facilities or services in the local community
- Carrying out caring responsibilities for a child
For each outcome the assessor asks whether the person can achieve it, whether they can do so without significant pain or distress, and whether failing to achieve it would have a significant impact on their wellbeing.
The national eligibility threshold
To meet the eligibility threshold under the Care Act 2014 all of these must be true:
- The needs arise from or are related to a physical or mental impairment or illness
- Because of those needs, the person is unable to achieve two or more of the outcomes above
- As a consequence, there is or is likely to be a significant impact on the person’s wellbeing
“Unable to achieve” is read broadly. It includes being unable to do so without significant pain, distress, anxiety, or risk to health and safety. It also includes taking significantly longer than would normally be expected.
What happens after the assessment
If the person meets the threshold, the council prepares a care and support plan. It sets out what needs to be done, who will do it, and how often. A personal budget figure is calculated, which is the amount the council estimates is required to meet the needs.
Once the plan exists, a financial assessment runs in parallel to determine who pays for what. The means test applies (see the means test page for the thresholds).
The person can ask for a direct payment, where the council gives them the money to arrange and pay for their own services rather than the council commissioning services on their behalf. This is common in domiciliary care and gives more flexibility.
Where the assessment sits relative to NHS CHC
The care needs assessment is the council’s process for social care funding. The NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment is the NHS’s separate process for health-related funding. They overlap in subject matter but use different criteria and produce different outcomes.
Practically, hospital discharge teams often run the two in parallel. The council assesses social care needs. The NHS team runs a CHC Checklist. Where the CHC Checklist passes the threshold, the full CHC assessmentfollows. Where the CHC assessment finds eligibility, the NHS funds the whole package and the council’s involvement reduces to administrative coordination.
If the CHC assessment finds the person not eligible, the council’s assessment and care and support plan become the primary structure, and the means test decides what the family pays.
Reviews
The council has a duty to review the care and support plan at intervals proportionate to the needs, but as a default within 12 months and when circumstances change. Family members can request a review at any time. The review can adjust the plan or the personal budget figure.
If you disagree with the outcome
If you believe the assessment is wrong, ask for a written copy of the eligibility decision and the supporting notes. The council has a complaints procedure. If that does not resolve the issue, you can escalate to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Many decisions are revised at this stage.
Independent advice is available from Age UK and from Carers UK for family carers.
Updated 3 June 2026. Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015.