Am I Entitled to a Care Needs Assessment in England?

Who this guide is for

Adults in England who need help to manage day to day because of illness, disability or age, and the family members or friends who care for them. It covers the right to a care needs assessment from the council, carer's assessments, what happens after the assessment, paying for care and how to complain. The law is the Care Act 2014.

What this guide does not cover

• Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland: the law is different. Read the guide for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland.
• Care for a child, including a disabled child. This guide does not cover it: ask the council children's services.
• Care paid for in full by the NHS because your needs are mainly health needs. This guide does not cover it: ask the NHS or your GP.
• Benefits such as Attendance Allowance, PIP and Carer's Allowance: use the benefits checker.
• Managing someone's money or decisions for them (power of attorney): use the power of attorney checker.
• The detail of the financial assessment (which income counts, allowances you keep, money given away before asking for help) and direct payments. This guide does not cover them: ask the council or Age UK.

The questions that decide the answer

1. Is the person 18 or over and living in England? If under 18, it is a matter for children's services. If they live in another nation, a different law applies.
2. Does it look as if they may need care and support? If yes, the council must assess them. There is no money test and no minimum level of need for the assessment itself.
3. Does the assessment find needs the council must meet? If yes, the council writes a care and support plan. If no, it must still give information about services that could help.
4. Is the care at home or in a care home? The money rules are different.
5. For a permanent move into a care home: does the person own their home, and does anyone still live there? That decides whether the home counts.

"Can I get a care needs assessment?"

Under section 9 of the Care Act 2014 the council must assess any adult who appears to need care and support, whatever it thinks about the level of those needs or the person's money.

Anyone can ask for a needs assessment. Contact adult social services at your council, by phone or online.

The assessment looks at how your needs affect your wellbeing, what you want to achieve day to day, and whether care and support could help. The council must involve you, any carer you have, and anyone you ask it to involve.

You can have a friend or relative with you, or an advocate to speak up for you. Advocates are often free.

"What happens after the assessment?"

The council decides whether you need help and gives you the results. If you qualify, it writes a care and support plan with you setting out how it will help.

Whether or not your needs qualify, the council must give you information about services that could help.

"I look after someone"

If you care for someone, you can ask the council for a carer's assessment. It is free and anyone over 18 can ask for one.

It is separate from the needs assessment of the person you care for, but you can ask for both to be done at the same time. If you qualify for help, the council writes a plan with you. You may need a financial assessment first.

If you care for a disabled child, contact the council's children with disabilities department instead.

"Will I have to pay?"

The council can charge for care and support. To decide how much you pay, it carries out a financial assessment of your income and capital (savings, investments and property).

In 2026 to 2027 the upper capital limit is £23,250 and the lower capital limit is £14,250.

• Capital above the upper limit: you pay the full cost of a care home.
• Capital between the two limits: you pay what you can afford from your income, plus £1 a week for every £250 of capital between the limits.
• Capital below the lower limit: you pay only what you can afford from your income.

For care other than in a care home, the council can choose to use higher capital limits. When you get care at home, the value of the home you live in is not counted.

The planned cap on care costs is not in force. On 29 July 2024 the government announced that the adult social care charging reforms would not go ahead in October 2025.

"Will I have to sell my home to pay for a care home?"

If you move permanently into a care home, the council ignores the value of your home for the first 12 weeks when your income and other capital are not enough to pay the fees. You still pay towards your care from your income and other capital during those weeks.

Your home is not counted at all while your spouse or partner, or a close relative who is aged 60 or over or incapacitated, still lives there.

A deferred payment agreement lets you put off paying care home fees from the value of your home, so you do not have to sell it in your lifetime. The debt is repaid when the home is sold, or from your estate.

The council must offer a deferred payment agreement if your eligible needs are to be met in a care home, your capital not counting your home is at or below the upper limit, and your home is not already ignored. The council takes a legal charge on the home and can charge interest and fees.

"The council refused, is delaying, or I disagree"

Complain to the council first, using its adult social care complaints procedure. Councils normally expect a complaint within 12 months of the problem.

If you are still unhappy, go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. It normally looks at a complaint only after the council has had the chance to deal with it, and you should usually go to it within 12 months of when you first knew about the problem. It also looks at complaints about care providers.

Deadlines

• Complaint to the council: normally within 12 months of the problem.
• Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman: usually within 12 months of when you first knew about the problem.
• A permanent move into a care home: the 12 weeks when your home is ignored are the time to arrange a deferred payment agreement if you want one.

Traps

• Being told you have too much money to be assessed: the assessment does not depend on money.
• Thinking a care home means selling your home straight away: the 12 weeks, the relatives rule and deferred payment agreements all apply first.
• Using figures from another nation: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different limits.
• Hearing about a cap on care costs: it never came into force.
• A carer's assessment is about the carer's own needs, not a check on how well they care.