Care Act 2014 : Should / Could / Would Act 2014 ... R.I.P. ?

[Chris From The Gulag]

Said Act is a classic example of the Central Government seemingly benefiting certain sections of the community whereas , when one examines the precise wording , there is enough leeway for those applying the changes to be able to change the goal posts thus blunting the published intention of the Act.

Done for mainly political reasons .... need to pacify , seem to be acting , allow enough loopholes for purposes of said Act to be questionable but , not by those passing the Act , but by those applying the Act.

Put another way , the Govermnent needed a few " Patsies " ... step in the LAs ... the Lee Harvey Oswalds.

Not quite a chocolate teapot but , just turn the heat up a little.

Was not said Act " Welcomed " by our main carer organisations ?

[Chris From The Gulag]

Young carers and the Carers Act .... covered in a Carers Radio broadcast still available :

http://www.carersworldradio.com/

Plenty of professionals / campaigners .... a few more young carers would not have gone amiss. Would have be interesting to hear how some , as young as 7 / 8 / 9 made of said Act .... without being coached by those with others interests at stake ... ?

[Chris From The Gulag]

Appears to relate to England only.

One way the LAs choose to raise the fence ... increase charges ... yes , assessments and support readily available ... provided one has the money to meet the cost !

Did said Act make any monies available directly to any carer ?

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yor ... t-12032524

[Chris From The Gulag]

I agree that this Act is important for any carer in England.

My concern is the gap , even chasm , between what carers expect it to achieve , and the reality of what it will achieve.

Assessments / support ... great. But , at a cost as many LAs have increased charges / raised the fences so that fewer carers will benefit ... beyond those able to buy in the services on offer.

If the application of the Act is anything other than what I observe to be already taking place , please correct me.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Exactly my point when the Law is applied by those who administer it ... the LAs.

I , and every other reader of this post and contributor to this Forum , hope that your quest produces a positive result.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Just to muddy the waters even further , the key concern is with those who have the task of implementing Government policy.

As it's the LAs , no two LAs have the same range of charges / services. What may be free of charge in one LA may well be charged for in another. Frustrating for all concerned if one lives near to an LA boundary , and see his / her friend a mere 50 yards or so away receive services unavailable to or too expensive for him / herself.

Post code lottery coming into play again.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Something puzzling me ..... I assume that plans have been made to inform all 6 million + carers of this Act ?

Obviously , those surfing into the main organisations / dropping into local centres will be aware IF they search / ask but , even then , that still leaves several million others.

Through the LAs ? Again , there are many carers who care without any contact with the LAs.

Circular from the DWP to all claiming Carers Allowance ?

In medical centres which allow such circulars ? Hospital notice boards ?

Just curious ......

[Chris From The Gulag]

Purely for those seeking further information beyond what's available elsewhere on the Site.

Some interesting articles on the Care Act 2015.

https://www.theguardian.com/social-care ... ort-carers

A lengthy Report undertaken by the Carers Trust and others ... in PDF. format. Bear in mind the size of the sample used when compared with actual carer numbers.

https://carers.org/sites/files/carerstr ... ear_on.pdf

Outcome and " Teething " problems :

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2016/04/ ... -achieved/

[Chris From The Gulag]

For those seeking a detailed summary of just how this Act works / will work in respect of numbers / costs / implementation , look no further than the First Phase report produced by the National Audit Office.

If ever there is to be a post mortem on this Act , those conducting it would be using this Report as a good starting point. Given that there are 6 million + carers in the UK , even over a 3 / 4 year period , just how many will benefit ... include both those who will receive free support , and those needing to contribute towards support ? Early indications can be found / projected on adding together various clues / figures in this report.

It is both a lengthy and detailed Report for those prepared to surf in. As far as I have read , appears to be non bias which is always a good starter for ten.

IN PDF. FORMAT.

https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploa ... eforms.pdf

[Chris From The Gulag]

Forthcoming AGM ... anyone know if the effectiveness of this Act is on the menu for discussion ?

" Too early to comment on ".

Early days certainly but ..... indications are that it is not all it seems to be.

An estimate as to numbers who will benefit ... ideally , split into free services and those who need to contribute ... would be a good starting point if only to keep members / posters and the other 6 million odd carers in the picture.

After all . someone somewhere must have input some estimates BEFORE the Act became law ... and have possibly factored in the eligibilty / pricing criteria employed by the LAs ( Over the past few years , continuinly raised so as to reduce the numbers able to claim support services ... either free or at a price ).

One of the problems of keeping carers in the dark .... in the absence of information , many can only judge on what actually is going down from news reports and other third party sources ... which may or not be factually correct.