ANNEX B: EXISTING LEGISLATION ABOUT SOCIAL CARE The NHS and Community Care Act 1990
401.This Act introduced community care. It requires a local authority to assess a person’s need for community care services (see sections 46 and 47 of the 1990 Act). Where a local authority considers that a person needs NHS or housing authority services, it is required to involve those authorities in the assessment.
402.When the community care provisions were brought into effect (on 1 April 1993) those already in residential accommodation on 31 March 1993 were excluded from the obligation on local authorities to provide residential accommodation under section 21 of the 1948 Act (except in circumstances set out in regulations) (see section 26A of the 1990 Act) . Instead , those people already in residential accommodation on 1 April 1993, retained the right to higher rate benefits (the relevant benefits are now income support and jobseeker’s allowance). These higher rate benefits were intended to enable people to continue to make their own arrangements for residential accommodation.