Policy Document

Health and Social Care Act

Year

2001

Country

United Kingdom

Topic

Health

Subtopic

Long-term care

Keywords

Long-term care Ageing society Access to healthcare Elderly care Healthcare system

Main implications

The act describes the regulations to specify when a local authority is required to provide residential accommodation and when additional payments may be made for more expensive accommodation.

Nursing care is excluded from community care services. Local authorities take the responsibility for arranging and meeting the care needs of people who have until now had their long-term care funded through preserved rights to income support and jobseeker's allowance. The power of local authorities to place a charge on an interest in land as an alternative method of a person financing their long-term care is extended.

National Health Service Funded Nursing Care only applies to people in a care home setting and is different for each country within the UK:

England: from 1 October 2007- a single flat rate of 101 GBP per week replaced the previous 3banded system;

Wales: a single flat rate of 114.90 GBP per week;

Northern Ireland: a single rate of 100 GBP per week;

Scotland represents a special case. Free personal care and free nursing care are provided. Care home residents in need of personal care receive 145 GBP per week, while people requiring nursing receive 210 GBP per week. But the recipients are not able to claim for the Attendance Allowance.

Benefits & Requirements

Implementing Text & Related Legislation

Original name of the legal document/act (native language)

Health and Social Care Act

Date of passage/approval

11^th May 2001

Are the effects retroactive?

Actors

Frank Dobson (former Secretary of State for Health, Labour Party); Alan Milburn (Secretary of State for Health, Labour Party)

Read the Law

Full Text Source in English

2001, c. 15

Original full text source in native language

2001, c. 15

Full text web source in English

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/4/pdfs/ukpga_19920004_en.pdf

Original full text web source in native language

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2001/15/pdfs/ukpga_20010015_en.pdf

Comments & Clarifications

Effective date: Beginning 1 October 2001 (for provisions of Act related to social care)
According to the Department of Health, one of the aims of the legislation was to “provide a fairer system of funding for long-term care” (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2001/15/notes/division/2). The reforms (Part 4 of the legislation) followed, in large part, the policy recommendations within the government’s October 2000 paper, Response to the Royal Commission on Long Term Care.

Secondary Literature & Sources

Secondary literature

Dobson, F. "With respect to old age: long term care - rights and responsibilities". Report of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care, British Department of Health (1997). Available at: http://www.webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4008520.