Commentary on Sections Imposing charges and assessing financial resources Section 19 – Power to meet needs for care and support
145.This section provides broad powers to enable local authorities to meet the needs of adults whose needs they are not otherwise required to meet, for instance because the adult is not ordinarily resident, or does not have needs for care and support which meet the eligibility criteria. The local authority must have carried out an assessment in these cases to determine what needs the adult does have, if any.
146.In addition, subsection (3) gives a power for local authorities to meet needs in urgent cases, without having first carried out the required assessments. Sometimes, it will be necessary to put in place care and support urgently and there may not be time to undertake a full assessment. In such cases, the local authority must still carry out the assessments, but can do so in due course so as to not delay care and support being put in place.