Information and advice
Care Act 2014
Outline of content
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Introduction
What the Act says: a duty on local authorities
What information and advice needs to be provided?
Who needs information and advice and when do they need it?
Proportionality and accessibility
How effective is information and advice?
A strategic approach
Summary
A vital component
 Information and advice is fundamental to enabling people to take
control of, and make well-informed choices about, their care and
support and how they fund it
 Not only does information and advice help to promote people’s
wellbeing by increasing their ability to exercise choice and control, it is
also a vital component of preventing or delaying people’s need for care
and support
 It is an essential building block of the Care Act reforms
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What is information and advice?
Self-help
information
Assisted
information
Advice
Specialist advice
and advocacy
Websites,
leaflets, NHS
Choices etc
Telephone
helplines,
directories,
libraries, one
stop shops,
CAB, charities,
information
centres, GPs,
frontline staff
etc
Telephone lines,
information
centres, one
stop shops,
CAB, support
groups, carers
centres, CIL,
social workers,
GPs, outreach
staff/workers etc
Independent
financial
advisers, legal
help on
complex
matters in
specific areas
of law,
independent
advocates
No interaction
Limited to
moderate
interaction
Moderate to high
interaction
High interaction
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Major problems with information
and advice
1. The social care system is too complex and localised to comprehend
2. Decisions are typically taken in a crisis
3. There are problems with the quality and availability of information,
advice and referral
4. The availability and quality of council information services and
assessments is patchy
5. There is a lack of independent support for the assessment process
6. There is a lack of joined-up advice covering care and housing/benefits
options
7. There is a lack of information about service availability and quality
8. There is a lack of signposting to financial advice
Advice and information needs in adult social care. Think Local, Act Personal 2013
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A duty on local authorities
 Section 4 of the Care Act places a duty on local authorities to ensure
the availability of information and advice services for all people in its
area, regardless of whether or not they have eligible care needs
 A wide definition including care and support related aspects of health,
housing, benefits, and employment
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Who provides information and
advice?
 Local authorities do not have to provide all elements of this service
 They are expected to:
 Understand, coordinate and make effective use of all the
information and advice resources that are available
 Think about how they are reaching out and joining up with other
providers of information and advice to ensure the coherence of the
overall ‘offer’
 Signpost or refer people to relevant independent and impartial
sources of information and advice
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What needs to be provided?
 Information about how the local care and support system works
 How people can access care and support services
 What types of care and support are available, and the choice of
providers
 Care and support related financial information and advice, including
how to access independent financial advice
 How to raise concerns about the safety or wellbeing of someone who
has care and support needs
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Financial information and advice
 The local authority must provide financial information
and advice, including:
 understanding care charges
 ways to pay
 money management
 As well as identifying those who may benefit from
independent financial advice or information and help
them to access it
 Broader awareness raising about how care and
support is funded
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Who needs information and advice?
Transitioning to
adulthood
Wanting to plan
for their future
Subject to
safeguarding
concerns
Who contact the
local authority
People
Who are family
members or
carers
In prison
Who are assessed
as being in need of
care and support
Who may develop
care and support
needs in the
future
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Self funders
 Self funders often not well served for information and advice by many
councils in the past:
 many do not seek help
 while those that do find little information was offered and that
signposting to other sources of support was a negative experience
The Barriers to Choice
Review
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When do they need it?
 On contact with the care and support
system
 Targeted at key ‘trigger points’ in people’s
lives
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Proportionality
Complexity of
issues
Volume of
information
Methodology
and timing
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Accessibility
 Information and advice must be open to everyone who would
benefit from it. They authority should ensure that:
 There are a range of delivery mechanisms that are accurate and
up-to-date
 Staff are aware of accessibility issues and appropriately trained
 Websites meet accessibility standards
 Printed materials are clear and in plain English
 Materials are adapted as necessary e.g. easy read versions and
translations
 Help from independent person is available
to help people access information and advice
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Supporting a person’s involvement
Might this
person have
difficulty in
being
involved?
Do they still
have
‘substantial
difficulty’
inbeing
involved?
Yes
Can they be better
supported to
enable their
involvement?

Yes
Provide
support and
make
adjustments
Yes
Agree
‘appropriate
individual’
No
Duty to
arrange for
independent
advocate
[Reasonable
adjustments under the
Equality Act 2010]
Yes
Is there an
‘appropriate
individual’ – a
carer, friend or
relative – that can
facilitate their
involvement?
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How effective is information and
advice?
“Information and advice should only be judged as clear if it is
understood and able to be acted upon by the individual receiving it.”
 Local authorities will need to check that information and advice is
understood and able to be acted upon:
 Check understanding
“I couldn’t find
 Check impact
any information
on local services.
I just got
gobbledegook
from the phone.”
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A strategic approach to information
and advice
Coproduction
Impact
Develop
and
implement
a strategy/
plan
Mapping
Coordination
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Information and advice principles
1.
Involve people who use services and carers in determining what is
needed and how it is provided
2. Be available at the right time for people who need it, in a range of
accessible formats and through a range of channels
3. Meet the needs of everyone in the community served
4. Be clear, comprehensive and impartial
5. Be consistent, accurate and up-to-date
6. Meet quality standards
7. Be based on a detailed analysis of the needs of the local population
8. Be commissioned in tandem with other relevant support and advocacy
services
9. Avoid reinventing the wheel
10. Signpost people to sources of further information
11. Be used to inform future planning
Principles for the provision of information and advice (TLAP 2013)
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Summary
 Information should be available to all, regardless of how their care is
paid for
 Good quality, easily accessible information will help people to make
good decisions about the care and support they need
 Local authorities have a key role in ensuring good quality advice is
available locally and for sign posting people to independent advice
 Information and advice needs to be targeted at key ‘trigger’ points in
people’s lives
 Information and advice should be accessible and proportionate
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