PART 1Care and support

General responsibilities of local authorities

4Providing information and advice

(1)

A local authority must establish and maintain a service for providing people in its area with information and advice relating to care and support for adults and support for carers.

(2)

The service must provide information and advice on the following matters in particular—

(a)

the system provided for by this Part and how the system operates in the authority's area,

(b)

the choice of types of care and support, and the choice of providers, available to those who are in the authority's area,

(c)

how to access the care and support that is available,

(d)

how to access independent financial advice on matters relevant to the meeting of needs for care and support, and

(e)

how to raise concerns about the safety or well-being of an adult who has needs for care and support.

(3)

In providing information and advice under this section, a local authority must in particular—

(a)

have regard to the importance of identifying adults in the authority's area who would be likely to benefit from financial advice on matters relevant to the meeting of needs for care and support, and

(b)

seek to ensure that what it provides is sufficient to enable adults—

(i)

to identify matters that are or might be relevant to their personal financial position that could be affected by the system provided for by this Part,

(ii)

to make plans for meeting needs for care and support that might arise, and

(iii)

to understand the different ways in which they may access independent financial advice on matters relevant to the meeting of needs for care and support.

(4)

Information and advice provided under this section must be accessible to, and proportionate to the needs of, those for whom it is being provided.

(5)

“Independent financial advice” means financial advice provided by a person who is independent of the local authority in question.

(6)

In cases where a local authority performs the duty under subsection (1) jointly with one or more other local authorities by establishing and maintaining a service for their combined area—

(a)

references in this section to a local authority are to be read as references to the authorities acting jointly, and

(b)

references in this section to a local authority's area are to be read as references to the combined area.