Commentary on Sections General responsibilities of local authorities Section 2 - Preventing needs for care and support
61.This section requires local authorities to take steps, including providing and arranging for services (“arranging for” may include commissioning from others), which are intended to prevent, reduce or delay needs for care and support for all local people including adults and carers.
62.Subsection (2) requires local authorities to have regard to how it could make the best use of community facilities to prevent, delay and reduce needs for care and support; and to have regard to identifying adults and carers in their area who have unmet needs for care and support, when providing or arranging for preventative services under this section.
63.This section is intended to require steps that prevent, reduce and delay needs for care and support. This section relates to other local authority functions in Part 1 of the Act, including duties under sections 4 and 5. Local authorities must give information about services that can delay, prevent and reduce needs for care and support in their area under section 4, and must shape the market with regards to such services under section 5.
64.Subsections (3) and (4) allow for regulations to specify where a local authority may charge for taking steps to prevent, reduce or delay needs for care and support. Any charge made under these regulations can cover only the cost to the local authority of providing or arranging the service. Subsection (3)(b) allows regulations to prohibit charging where subsection (3)(a) would otherwise allow this. This is to allow for local authorities to continue to charge for some preventative services as they do now (for example subsidised leisure services), and to enable local authorities to broaden access to services that can prevent, delay or reduce needs for care and support, that may fall outside of traditional models of care and support, to a wider range of adults and carers in their area. Regulations under section 14 will be used to continue current entitlements to free intermediate care for a specified period and minor aids and adaptations up to a certain cost.
65.Subsection (6) acknowledges that a local authority may take steps to prevent, reduce or delay needs for care and support together with one or more other local authorities.