Actions and Next Steps

1. Providing Information and Advice

The Local Authority (and anyone representing the Local Authority) has a duty under Section 4 of the Care Act to either provide directly, or provide access to a range of information and advice relating to adult Care and Support, including financial advice. This duty applies equally in respect of all local residents regardless of whether the person with Care and Support needs is known to, lives in, or is already receiving services from the Local Authority.

Click here to see what the Care Act says about the duty to provide information and advice, including how information and advice should be provided and the specific information and advice requirements around finances.

Information and advice about adult Care and Support can be accessed in a number of ways;

1. To access information online go to www.croydon.gov.uk/healthsocial/adult-care;
2. To access information over the telephone call 020 8726 6000 or 6500;
3. To access information in person visit Access Croydon, Bernard Weatherhill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA;

Click here to see the answers to some frequently asked questions around financial assessment, including questions relating to Disabled Facilities Grants.

Note: This FAQ is based on statutory duties and powers and does not reflect Croydon Councils policy to provide all carers services on a non-chargeable basis.

The Customer Financial Affairs Team also have a Charging Helpline open between the hours of 9-5 Monday-Friday. The number is 020 8760 5676.

The following local organisations are also able to provide general information and advice relating to adult Care and Support;

Advice Services Croydon
020 8686 0066
asc@adviceservicescroydon.org.uk
http://directory.ageukcroydon.org.uk/

Disability Croydon
50 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1YB
020 8688 3622
dcsupport@disabilitycroydon.org.uk

Citizens Advice Bureau
48-50 Portland Road
South Norwood
London
SE25 4PQ

1. Drop In for advice Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 10am-12 noon;
2. Online Advice Service (www.citizensadvicecroydon.org): Fill in the online form to request advice;
3. Telephone advice line: 020 8684 2236, available Monday and Friday 12 noon -2.30pm and Wednesday and Thursday 10am -11.30am;
4. Advice online at the website on a range of matters, including benefits, work, debt, housing, law and rights, healthcare etc www.citizensadvicecroydon.org/;
5. Access Croydon can also process a referral to the Citizens Advice Bureau.

The following local organisations can also provide more bespoke information and advice.

Sometimes it is helpful to contact a well-known national organisation with a dedicated information and advice service or help-line. Click here for details of some national organisations offering this service.

Some national organisations do not have dedicated information and advice services but can still provide such support upon request. Click here for a wider range of useful national contacts for adult Care and Support.

Information and advice must be provided in an accessible way so that the person for whom it is intended can best understand and make use of it.

If you feel the person for whom the information and advice is intended will need support to understand it then you should:

1. Consider whether the person has anyone appropriate who can help them to understand it;
2. Consider any steps that you can take to support them to understand it (for example talking through the information over the telephone or summarising it in a simpler format); and
3. Consider the benefit of independent advocacy.

Information and Advice about Equipment and Adaptations

Information and advice may be required about local options available for a person to meet their needs in relation to equipment and adaptations. The following is a list of local services that specialise in providing equipment and adaptations;

The following are local organisations able to provide this advice;

Community Equipment Service
Croydon Living Independently Centre
3 Imperial Way
Croydon
CR0 4RR

Email: cesadmin@croydon.gov.uk
Phone: 020 8664 8860
Visit the website www.croydon.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/community-equipment-service-ces

NRS Healthcare
www.nrshealthcare.co.uk/
Phone: 0345 121 8111
Email for Advice: productadvice@nrs-uk.co.uk.

Ask Sara
Ask Sara is a website providing interactive live equipment advice at croydon.livingmadeeasy.org.uk.

Note: Whenever you signpost someone to any of the above you must also advise them of their right to an assessment, and that if they are eligible for support equipment up to the value of £1000 is non-chargeable.

2. Following up on Information and Advice

Under the Care Act the Local Authority has a duty to not only provide information and advice where it is needed, but to ensure that the information and advice it provides has been effective.

Therefore, when information and advice has been provided you should make appropriate arrangements to follow up with the person to whom it was given in order to review how effective it has been.

The timescales for this follow up should be agreed with the person to whom the information and advice was given and should reflect the individual circumstances and level of risk.

Where you are making arrangements for someone else to follow up on the information and advice you have given (rather than following up on it yourself) you must make sure that you have recorded this in a way that will ensure the person follows up on it at the agreed time.

3. Providing Information about a Person

The Local Authority has a common law and legal duty to safeguard the confidentiality of all personal information. As an employee of the Local Authority you are bound contractually to respect the confidentiality of any information that you may come into contact with. Under no circumstances should such information be divulged or passed to any persons or organisation in any form unless you have authorisation to do so.

All information sharing that takes place must be in line with data protection legislation (namely the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018) and local policy.

The Caldicott Principles must also be regarded. The Caldicott Principles are a set of principles that apply to the use of confidential information within health and social care organisations and when such information is shared with other organisations and between individuals, both for individual care and for other purposes. For further information, see: The Caldicott Principles.

Any unauthorised disclosure of confidential information may result in disciplinary action of individual prosecution under the Data Protection Act 2018.

For further information and guidance, see: Providing Information about a Person or Carer.

4. Transferring a Contact

It is important that the person making contact speaks to the right practitioner at the right time.

Transferring a telephone contact

Requests to speak to a named practitioner (duty)

When the person making the contact requests specifically to speak to or be contacted by a particular person you should establish as quickly as possible whether the contact should be forwarded to that practitioner.

You should check available systems to establish whether the person is allocated to the practitioner they have requested to speak to.

You should not transfer a telephone call to a named worker if it is clear that the worker is not allocated to the person. This will not be helpful to the worker or to the person as they will not be speaking to the right person to resolve the contact.

Transferring a contact

All transferring of calls should take place in line with the Local Communication Protocol. This is available in the Local Resources area by clicking here.

Unallocated/unknown cases

If the person does not have an allocated worker, all contact should be managed by the duty worker.

What to do if the practitioner the telephone contact is being transferred to is not available

If the practitioner is not available you should try and establish when they may become available by looking at any electronic calendars they use or speaking with a colleague or manager who may know.

If you know when the practitioner is likely to become available you should:

1. Inform the person of this;
2. Leave the practitioner a message alerting them to the contact, any action undertaken and confirming the information given to the person about when to expect a call back;
3. Undertake any actions that you are able to in order to resolve some or part of the contact, including any urgent actions that may be required should the practitioner be unavailable for more than a few hours;
4. Agree with the person what they should do if the practitioner does not make contact at the expected time; and
5. Make a proportionate record of all the above.

If it is not clear when the practitioner will become available, or if an urgent response is required you should:

1. Inform the person of this;
2. Leave the practitioner a message alerting them to the contact, any action undertaken and what information has been given to the person/carer;
3. Undertake any urgent actions (Duty); or
4. Request the Duty worker undertake any urgent actions (other workers); and
5. Make a proportionate record of all the above.

Transferring a written, email or text contact

Contacts for a named practitioner

When a written contact is addressed to a named worker you should establish as quickly as possible whether the contact should be forwarded to that practitioner.

You should check available systems to establish whether the person is allocated to the practitioner they have addressed the written contact to.

You should not transfer a written contact to a named worker if it is clear that the worker is not allocated to the person. This will not be helpful to the worker or to the person as they will not be dealing with the right person to resolve the contact.

Transferring the contact

Before transferring the contact you should:

1. Confirm that the practitioner the written communication is being transferred to is available within a reasonable timeframe for the action indicated by the contact, or that you have agreed with a manager how the contact will be managed;
2. Where the communication is a letter or an email, whether the practitioner wishes to receive the original contact (if not this should be filed securely); and
3. Where a written response confirming the contact has been received is required or requested, agree who will provide this.

The most secure way to transfer a written contact is to send a message to the practitioner alerting them to the contact and where it can be found on the recording system.

Any original copies of emails must be sent via internal secure email systems only and any original letters must be sent via internal postal services or secure delivery only.

Click here to access the local Data Protection policy.

Unallocated/unknown cases

If the person does not have an allocated worker, all contact should be managed by the duty worker.

What to do if the practitioner the written contact is being transferred to is not available

If the practitioner is not available you should try and establish when they may become available by looking at any electronic calendars they use or speaking with a colleague or manager who may know.

If the practitioner is not available within a reasonable timeframe for the action indicated by the contact you should:

1. Inform the person of this;
2. Leave the practitioner a message alerting them to the contact, any action undertaken and what information has been given to the person/carer;
3. Undertake any urgent actions (Duty); or
4. Request the Duty worker undertake any urgent actions (other workers); and
5. Make a proportionate record of all the above.

5. Accessing a Prevention Service

Under Section 2 of the Care Act the Local Authority has a duty to prevent needs for Care and Support/Support.

Click here to read more about the duty to prevent needs for Care and Support, including the types of prevention services recognised by the Care Act, when to provide prevention services and how to charge for prevention services.

In Croydon, the local approach is to work with partners on prevention in a way which is:

1. Personalised-responsive and flexible depending on the person;
2. Based on what people want to achieve in their lives;
3. Asset focused-building on what people and their communities can do and promoting new ideas;
4. A positive experience-engaging with people and learning as part of continuous improvement;
5. Integrated-whole system approach where services work in a joined up and seamless way; and
6. Efficient-better use of resources and understanding how they work.

Use the links below to find out about different prevention services available and how to access them.

Click here to find out about accessing the Reablement service (part of the LIFE Team).

Click here to access the Telecare and Careline Plus procedures.

Click here to find out about accessing the Adult Community Occupational Therapy service (ACOT).

Click here to find out about accessing the health and wellbeing service Just Live Well.

6. Safeguarding Concern

Where the information gathered requires further action under safeguarding you must respond appropriately by raising a concern;

Adults

Click here to access the safeguarding adults procedures. They explain how to recognise abuse or neglect and how to raise a concern.

Children

Urgent concerns relating to a child should be raised by calling 0208 255 2888. Outside office hours call 0208 726 6400 and ask to speak with the out of hours team.

Non-urgent referrals should be made using the Single Point of Contact Referral Form.

Note: When raising an urgent concern by telephone you must also complete the Single Point of Contact Referral Form.

Click here to access the online version of the Referral Form.

A downloadable version of the form is also available at the Croydon Council website.

If you wish to consult with a social worker before making a referral you can call 0208 726 6464 during office hours. However you should only do so if the case is not already allocated to a social worker and the child lives in the Croydon area.

For more information about Safeguarding Children visit the Croydon Safeguarding Children Board website by clicking here.

If you are concerned that an adult or child is in imminent danger from abuse or neglect, or that a criminal act has taken place you should contact the police by dialling 999.

7. Using Independent Advocacy

The Advocacy Duty

Whenever the outcome of a contact or referral is that the person will be involved in any adult Care and Support process (including any assessment, or safeguarding) the Local Authority has a duty under the Care Act to make an independent advocate available to the person when:

1. There is no appropriate other person to support and represent them; and
2. They feel that the person would experience substantial difficulty being fully involved in the Care and Support process without support.

Click here to access a tri.x tool that can support effective and consistent decision making about when/which advocacy support should be made available.

The Local Authority also has a power (but not a duty) to make advocacy available in other situations on a case by case basis if it deems this appropriate and is able to do so. This could include advocacy to support a person to understand information and advice, or advocacy to support a person to explore possible options available to them.

The Difference between substantial difficulty and lacking mental capacity

Having substantial difficulty is not the same as lacking mental capacity.

Click here for information about how to determine substantial difficulty.

Click here to access the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Resource and Practice Toolkit, which contains guidance about assessing capacity and making best interest decisions.

An appropriate person

An appropriate person for general representation purposes is not the same as an appropriate person for independent advocacy under the Care Act.

Click here for information about the difference and how to establish whether there is already an appropriate person.

The role of the Independent Advocate

The role of an independent advocate appointed under the Care Act is not the same as the role of a general advocate or any other type of advocate (for example an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate or an Independent Mental Health Advocate).

An independent advocate appointed under the Care Act must both facilitate and maximise the involvement of the person with substantial difficulty in the Care and Support process that is taking place.

For information about the ways in which an independent advocate should fulfil their role click here.

Advocacy for people who lack Capacity

People who lack capacity will likely be legally entitled to advocacy under both the Care Act and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The Care Act statutory guidance recognises that it would not normally be appropriate or practical for a person to have 2 advocates and gives the Local Authority the responsibility to make a decision about the best type of advocacy support.

There are various factors that should influence this decision (such as existing rapport with an advocate or whether any important decisions are likely to be the outcome of the Care and Support process) and the Local Authority must ensure that whatever it decides, it does not deny the person any of the specialist advocacy skills they need or are entitled to.

Use the tri.x Resource tab to access information about the role of an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) in the glossary.

Click here to access a tri.x tool that can support effective and consistent decision making about when/which advocacy support should be made available.

Advocacy for people subject to the Mental Health Act

People eligible for an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) under the Mental Health Act 1983 will likely be entitled to advocacy under the Care Act.

The Care Act statutory guidance recognises that it would not normally be appropriate or practical for a person to have 2 advocates and gives the Local Authority the responsibility to make a decision about the best type of advocacy support.

There are various factors that should influence this decision (such as existing rapport with an advocate or the likely outcome of the Care and Support process) and the Local Authority must ensure that whatever it decides, it does not deny the person any of the specialist advocacy skills they need or are entitled to.

Use the tri.x Resource tab to access information about the role of an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) in the glossary.

Click here to access a tri.x tool that can support effective and consistent decision making about when/which advocacy support should be made available.

Making a Referral for Independent Advocacy

The advocacy referral can be made at any time and should be made without delay as soon as the duty applies, even if the service making the referral will not be the service carrying out the Care and Support process. The Care and Support process requiring advocacy support cannot begin until it is in place.

Advocacy for All

Advocacy for All are commissioned to provide a full range of advocacy services in Croydon, including:

1. Care Act advocacy;
2. Independent Mental Capacity Act advocacy (IMCA);
3. Independent Mental Health Act advocacy (IMHA);
4. NHS complaints advocacy;
5. General advocacy for people with a learning disability;
6. General mental health advocacy;
7. DoLS advocacy;
8. Acting as a Responsible Person's Representative (RPR).

MIND

If Advocacy for All does not have capacity to provide the required service MIND should be used.

Family Justice Centre

The Family Justice Centre provide an Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy service (IDVA).

Age UK

Age UK can provide an advocacy service for older people where there are concerns around financial abuse.

Out of borough advocacy

If the person requiring advocacy has been placed by Croydon out of borough you should contact the relevant Local Authority to identify their locally commissioned advocacy provider and arrange an advocate from this service.

Recording advocacy

When advocacy is arranged the name of the advocate should be recorded on LAS using the most appropriate relationship type.

What to do if Independent Advocacy is not available or delayed

Regardless of whether or not independent advocacy is available in the local area the duty to provide it still applies. A failure to do so is a breach of this duty and of the law. It is the role of commissioners to ensure that advocacy services are in place and available when required, and it is the role of practitioners to make timely referrals to advocates to prevent unnecessary delays in the meeting of its duty.

If you are aware that advocacy support is required and is not yet available you must not proceed to carry out any Care and Support process until it is in place.

In some circumstances urgent interim measures may need to be agreed without an advocate in place in order to reduce immediate risk to the person from inaction. However, Care and Support processes that will decide long term and important decisions must not be carried out without advocacy support.

Click here to see the procedures for providing urgent support, including access to a tool to support consistent decision making in determining urgent needs.

What to do if the person does not want to use advocacy

The duty upon the Local Authority is to make independent advocacy support available to any person who requires it. Once made available the duty is met.

If a person decides that they do not wish to engage in the advocacy support that has been made available to them they do not have to do so, but the Local Authority must still provide it.

The Local Authority is expected under the Care Act to support the person to understand the role of an advocate and promote its benefit to them so as to reduce the likelihood that they will not engage.

8. Taking a Referral for Assessment or Support (Duty)

If the information gathered during a telephone contact suggests the person would benefit from further assessment or intervention a referral should be taken so long as:

1. The person the referral relates to is making the referral;
2. The person the referral relates to has given their consent to the referral; or
3. The person that the referral relates to lacks mental capacity to make a referral and a decision has been made under Best Interests that a referral should be made; or
4. The person that the referral relates to is at risk of harm from abuse or neglect.

The following information should be included in a referral:

1. All personal details, including the persons full name (and also preferred name or previous surname), address and preferred contact details, date of birth, national insurance number and NHS number;
2. The name, relationship and contact details of the person making the referral (if not the person themselves);
3. When and how the person consented to the referral;
4. If the person has not consented to the referral, was a mental capacity assessment carried out and is the referral being made under Best Interests;
5. What the presenting issue is from the person's perspective and what they would like to happen;
6. What the presenting issue is from the referrer's point of view (if the referrer is not the person) and what action they may recommend;
7. What options have been considered with the person to resolve the issue so far, including what support the person has had from family and community networks;
8. What information and advice has been provided to the person or what information and advice may be required;
9. What prevention services have been used, considered or may be of benefit;
10. Any specific communication needs of the person that need to be considered so they can understand and be involved in any adult Care and Support process;
11. Whether the person is likely to have substantial difficulty in any adult Care and Support process, and if so whether an independent advocate has been considered;
12. Details of any previous or current Care and Support services (whether the Local Authority is providing them or not);
13. With the person's consent the name and contact details of anyone involved in their life who should be involved in any assessment (family member, friend or professional); and
14. Any other information deemed relevant by the person or referrer (if the referrer is not the person).

9. Joint Work

Sometimes there may be a clear benefit to a joint assessment with another service area, team or professional. The Care Act recognises this and permits the Local Authority to make any arrangements it deems appropriate in order to facilitate joint working with others.

The duty to co-operate

Where the Local Authority requests another party to work jointly in some way to benefit the person with Care and Support needs that party has a duty to co-operate with the request (unless by doing so they will be prevented from carrying out their own duties under the Care Act or other legislation).

For further information about the duty to co-operate under the Care Act click here.

How to request joint work or assessment

Any decision to request joint work should be made with the person (or their representative). Where the person is unable to provide consent to joint work decisions should be made in their best interests.

Joint work requests should be made in the manner preferred by the service or team to which the request is being made. This may or may not take the form of a referral.

The request should explain clearly the nature of the joint work required and any specific skills, knowledge and competence requirements of the practitioner to support allocation.

Each service area/team within adult Care and Support has an area of these procedures and information about how to access specific services can be found there.

Responding to a request for joint work

If the service has been asked to work jointly with a colleague in adult Care and Support or in another organisation (such as health or housing) you should contact the person/service you will be working jointly with to:

1. Confirm the outcome of the referral; and
2. Provide a proposed timeframe for allocation (where allocation is appropriate).

If there are likely to be delays in allocation and commencement of joint work the person who requested the joint work will need to:

1. Consider whether to proceed with their intervention; or
2. Await allocation of practitioner.

It is the responsibility of the person requesting joint work to make this decision (in agreement with the person and any carer) and to take steps to ensure that any urgent needs for Care and Support are met.

When you have been allocated and asked to work jointly with another service or professional you should contact them to confirm your involvement and discuss the most effective way to work together. The things you should establish include:

1. The work they are doing/will be doing/have done and whether they have any information that you need to know or can use to avoid duplication;
2. Whether there are opportunities to coordinate systems and processes and, if so how this will be managed;
3. What the expectations are in terms of joint-working (for example will you be expected to carry out a joint assessment, meet with the person together, produce joint records or just consult and share information);
4. What the anticipated outcome of the joint work is (for example joint funding of support, on-going joint-work to monitor);
5. What does the person with care and support needs know about the joint-work to be carried out (and if they don't know who and how should this be explained);
6. Who will be the primary contact for the person (or their representative) to go to with any queries; and
7. Who will be responsible for communicating progress and decisions to the person.

Further practice guidance about effective joint working can be found in the joint-work procedure by clicking here.

Specialist joint work or assessment

Some areas of joint work are specialist or non-frequent in nature. The procedures for these pieces of work can be found in the Specialist and Universal Procedures section of this manual. The following are examples of the specialist and non-frequent procedures that can be found there:

1. NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments;
2. Continuity of Care;
3. Cross Border Placements.

Carrying out joint work or assessment

To find out about carrying out joint work or assessment, and recording joint work or assessment click here.

10. Revising a Care and Support Plan

When a Care and Support Plan can be revised

Under the Care Act, when a person is already receiving Care and Support from the Local Authority they may request a change to their Care and Support Plan at any time and the Local Authority must consider the request. Where the request is deemed reasonable the Local Authority has a duty to review the plan.

The review is the mechanism by which the need for a revision is determined. As such, under the Care Act a Care and Support Plan can only be revised following a review.

Where a change is requested to a plan and there is no planned review scheduled consideration should be given to arranging an unplanned review. Any review must be proportionate to the needs of the person and undertaken in a timely way so as to reduce the risk of a crisis developing and needs not being met.

When the person requiring a review has an allocated worker

If the person has an allocated worker this person should carry out the review, unless the review is urgent and the worker in unavailable.

Duty: Before transferring the review request you should confirm that the practitioner the review request is being transferred to is available.

If the practitioner is not available you should speak with a manager to establish whether:

1. The request should still be transferred to the allocated worker to action when they become available;
2. The request should instead be transferred to another practitioner to carry out the review.

Deciding whether the Review needs allocation (duty only)

Where the information gathered at contact suggests there has been no change in the person's needs, and that a change to the personal budget amount is not required may be possible to complete a 'light touch' review without further allocation.

Click here for information about the methods of light touch review that should be made available under the Care Act.

When the information gathered at contact suggests there has been a change in need or circumstance, and that a change in the personal budget amount is required any review carried out is likely to lead to a proportionate reassessment of need. Because this is a longer term intervention allocation for this should be considered.

Carrying out the review

11. Urgent or Interim Support

When urgent or interim support can be provided

Not everyone contacts the Local Authority in a timely way so as to allow for an assessment and exploration of options to take place prior to any initial decisions being made about the need for Care and Support.

For example, some people only approach the Local Authority when they are in a time of crisis, high risk or when there is a sudden or unexpected change in their Wellbeing.

In these cases there may appear to be an urgent need for support that cannot wait for an assessment or review process to be carried out.

The Care Act recognises this occurrence and gives the Local Authority powers to meet such needs without having carried out a formal assessment process.

Click here to see what the Care Act says about meeting urgent needs without an assessment or review.

Having the power to meet needs without an assessment or review means that the Local Authority can decide whether or not to do so, based on the available information and specific circumstances of the person and their situation.

Deciding how to meet interim needs

Under the Care Act, the Local Authority can put any interim or urgent measures in place that it deems appropriate to meet the needs of the person and manage the situation. This can range from a small number of domiciliary care visits to a stay in residential accommodation.

The same legal considerations apply when meeting urgent needs as they do when meeting non-urgent needs:

1. The impact on the person's individual wellbeing;
2. Whether any preventative service can be provided that will delay, reduce or prevent the need for Care and Support;
3. Whether information and advice can be provided to support the person to find their own solution, or to delay, reduce or prevent the need for Care and Support.

It is vital that you understand your duties in relation to the above. Please use the links below to access further information as required.

Click here to access information about the duty to promote individual wellbeing.

Click here to access information about the duty to prevent, reduce or delay needs.

Click here to access information about the duty to provide good information and advice.

In addition, you should be mindful that nobody has yet assessed (or reassessed) the needs of the person and you may be relying on historical information or information from sources currently under significant strain or pressure to act. As such the information presented may or may not be an accurate reflection of the person's needs following an assessment.

Interim support should therefore only be seen as a temporary measure to reduce risk of harm and support the person to a place in time where a needs assessment can be carried out and long term options explored and agreed with them. As such, you should be cautious about providing interim Care and Support that may be problematic to cease following assessment.

Click here to access a tri.x tool to support consistent decision making about the provision of urgent or interim support.

A Strengths Based Approach

Wherever possible, every conversation with a person should be from a strengths perspective. This means that before you talk about service solutions to the presenting issue you must support the person to explore whether there is:

1. Anything within their own power that they can do to help themselves; or
2. Anything within the power of their family, friends or community that they can use to help themselves.

A strengths based approach is empowering for the person and gives them more control over their situation and how best to resolve any issues in the best way for them. The end result may still be that the Local Authority intervenes with an assessment or other support, but this decision will have been reached knowing that it is the most proportionate response available.

Adopting a strengths based approach involves:

1. Taking a holistic view of the person or carers needs in the context of their wider support network;
2. Helping the person to understand their strengths and capabilities within the context of their situation;
3. Helping the person to understand and explore the support available to them in the community;
4. Helping the person to understand and explore the support available to them through other networks or services (e.g. health);
5. Exploring some of the less intrusive/intensive ways the Local Authority may be able to help (such as through prevention services or signposting.

SCIE have produced clear and practical guidance around how to use a strengths based approach in practice. It can be accessed here. Note: SCIE requires a login to access resources, but any social care practitioner can create one quickly and easily.

Requesting Funding for Urgent or Interim Support

Wherever possible all funding requests should be submitted to Panel. However, where the need for support cannot wait until the next Panel meeting you should discuss the situation with your line manager. If in agreement, the request can be submitted for urgent agreement to the relevant Head of Service. If agreed it should still be submitted to the next Panel meeting for formal ratification of the decision made.

Guidance on the panel process should be followed. It can be found in the Local Resources area by clicking here.

Funding Decisions for Urgent or Interim Support

It is difficult to make a decision about the level of funding required to meet the urgent or interim Care and Support needs because:

1. There will be no personal budget allocated to the person; or
2. There will be a personal budget but this will not be based on their current needs.

The Care Act does not discuss or set funding limitations in relation to the provision of any Care and Support. This includes urgent and interim Care and Support. Instead, the golden rule of the Care Act when making any funding decision is that 'the amount of funding agreed must be sufficient to meet the needs that are to be met at that time'. Decisions must also be made in a way to ensure that the person will be satisfied the process was fair and robust.

Factors other than sufficiency that must be considered when making funding decisions are:

1. The views and wishes of the person about how their needs should be met;
2. The availability of other potential options in the marketplace; and
3. The cost of available suitable services in the marketplace.

Other factors that should be considered are:

1. The complexity of the person's needs;
2. The level of risk/sense of urgency; and
3. Whether the practitioner requesting the funding has provided relevant information and advice, whether they have explored prevention services that may be appropriate and whether they have explored how the person's own networks of support could help; and
4. Where the person is not ordinarily resident; if they receive Care and Support already in another Authority the nature of the Care and Support they receive.

When making a funding decision the Local Authority is also permitted under the Care Act to consider how to balance its legal requirement to maintain universal services to the entire local population with the power to meet the urgent needs of a person or carer. In doing so it must:

1. Not base it's decision on finances alone;
2. Consider things on a case-by-case basis; and
3. Not set arbitrary limits (fixed amounts for a particular type of need or service).

Guidance on the panel process should be followed. It can be found in the Local Resources area by clicking here.

Communicating the outcome

The outcome of the funding decision should be communicated to the person at the earliest opportunity. The method of communication should reflect that requested by the person and any specific communication needs they may have. For the purposes of the Care Act communication about the outcome of a funding decision is subject to the same requirements as the provision of information and advice, and the duty to make it accessible therefore applies equally.

Where communication is provided by telephone a follow up letter confirming the conversation and the funding decision should be sent to the person as a formal record.

When communicating the outcome you should include the following information:

1. The funding decision itself;
2. The rationale for the decision;
3. Any information and advice relating to adult Care and Support, and the prevention, delay or reduction of needs;
4. What will happen next and the timeframes involved;
5. How to complain about any aspect of the decision or proposed outcome.

People and carers can be directed to the Croydon Council website for information about the adult social care complaints process.

Click here to read the complaints policy and procedure.

Recording Urgent and Interim Support

Any funding decision rationale should be clearly recorded.

The Local Authority is not required to record urgent and interim support on a Care and Support Plan because:

1. The support is being provided under the Local Authority's powers (as opposed to duties);
2. The person has not yet been assessed (or reassessed); and
3. There has been no decision about eligible needs.

However, the following must be clearly recorded:

1. The urgent or interim support being provided;
2. The contribution to the cost of the support being made by the Local Authority;
3. The contribution being made by the person;
4. The duration of the support;
5. How the support will be reviewed;
6. What outcomes the support aims to achieve; and
7. The next steps, including timeframes for any assessment.

All recording should be in line with the Local Standards for Timeliness of Recording. The standards can be found in the Local Resources by clicking here.

Arranging Interim or Urgent Support

Under the Care Act the process of arranging to meet urgent and interim Care and Support needs is the same as arranging to meet needs agreed through a non-urgent Care and Support Planning process.

Click here to access the Commissioning and Brokerage Procedures. The Commissioning and Brokerage Procedures include the processes for using any brokerage service to commission a service, commissioning Care and Support services directly, and how to record the services that are being provided on the system.

Charging for Care and Support

The Local Authority is permitted under the Care Act to charge any person for Care and Support (including Care and Support provided on an urgent basis) unless:

1. It chooses not to; or
2. The person has been financially assessed as having insufficient funds to contribute; or
3. The support being provided is reablement (up to 6 weeks is non-chargeable); or
4. The support being provided is equipment (up to the cost of £1000 is non-chargeable).

Click here for further information about charging for all services under the Care Act.

Click here to see the answers to some frequently asked questions around financial assessment.

Click here to access the procedures relating to financial assessment, which include links to any local policy and financial assessment process.

Urgent Support for people who are not ordinarily resident

Where urgent support is provided to a person who is not ordinarily resident contact should be made at the earliest opportunity to the Local Authority in which they live to inform them of the intention to meet an urgent need.

Where the person is already in support of a service from the other Local Authority information should be gathered to support any decisions made about which support should be provided.

Agreement should be reached with the other Local Authority about how any urgent Care and Support services will be monitored, when they intend to assess for eligible needs and how reimbursement of costs incurred can be sought.

Click here to access a tri.x tool to help determine whether a person is ordinarily resident in the area.

12. Allocation for Support, Assessment or Review

When to allocate

Where the outcome decision is for the person's case to be allocated to an individual worker to carry out an assessment, review or further intervention this allocation should take place in a timely way so as to:

1. Avoid any unnecessary delays to the person;
2. Reduce the risk of a deterioration in the situation; and
3. Maximise the use of measures that will prevent, delay or reduce needs.

Where there are a significant number of people awaiting allocation for further work or assessment there should be a fair and consistent prioritisation process in place that takes into account:

1. The level of risk;
2. The level of need;
3. Current support in place and the sustainability/effectiveness of this;
4. The urgency;
5. The likelihood of deterioration; and
6. The potential for fluctuation.

An element of monitoring should be incorporated into any allocation process to ensure that you remain aware of every person's situation and are able to respond appropriately to any changes or need to re-prioritise allocation.

Managers should use the local screening tool to assist in prioritisation. Situations should be identified as either high (red or P1), medium (amber or P2) or low (green or P3) priority for allocation.

Note: The tool should be used as a guide and should not dictate allocation decisions.

How to allocate

The Care Act recognises that each worker (regardless of whether or not they have a professional qualification) will possess specific skills, knowledge and experience that will enable them to carry out different Care and Support functions or work with particular people well.

Because of this there is no expectation that a particular role should carry out a particular function; instead the Local Authority should allocate tasks to the most appropriate person for the job.

Allocation decisions should take into account:

1. The skills, knowledge and experience of the worker in carrying out the function or process required;
2. The skills, knowledge and experience of the worker in working with the particular needs of the person (for example health needs or communication needs); and
3. The views and wishes of the person themselves in relation to the skills required of the worker and who they feel would best support them.

Click here to access a tri.x tool that can support consistent decision making when deciding who to allocate work to.