Social care

Social care services (also referred to as community care services) are provided to vulnerable people in need, including those with physical or mental disabilities, children in need of care and protection, and people experiencing chronic ill health and those who care for them. A social worker’s job often involves safeguarding vulnerable people from significant harm.

Social care is funded by local authorities, county councils or metropolitan councils, under the direction of elected councillors, except in Northern Ireland where it is funded by the Health and Social Care Board.

The service may be provided by the council or they may fund (commission) a private company, a charity or an NHS organisation to provide the service. Charities, churches and community groups providing care are often described as the voluntary sector and range from large, national organisations to small, local groups.

Services provided by local councils or the NHS are described as statutory sector services. Within a local council, the departments providing social care are often called Social Services, Adult Services or Children’s Services.

Social work with children is heavily dominated by protecting children from abuse and neglect.

Over the past few years there has been a significant trend of integrating HIV-specific social care services into the more generalised care system. This means there are very few HIV-specific social care agencies or social workers, although a number of charities and social workers retain a strong interest in the area.

Social workers perform a range of different tasks, including assessing clients, managing the care provided to them, and advocating for clients with other agencies.

Social care services are currently being encouraged to provide personalised care that is tailored to the needs of the user, who have more choice and control over their care. The service user may receive the funds through schemes called ‘direct payments’ or ‘self-directed support’ to employ carers and buy the care and support they want.

There is a small specialist Department of Health fund, the AIDS Support Grant, that councils in England can apply for to pay for the extra costs of providing social care services to people with HIV.

Most services are open access but others require a referral from a social worker, GP or NHS professional.

You are entitled to an assessment of your social care needs by a local council or Health and Social Care Trust. The outcome of the assessment decides to what social care services a person is entitled. Generally an assessment involves talking to a social worker or social care assessor about your current circumstances, your history and your needs. This will then be considered in the light of the local eligibility criteria. In all parts of the UK there are attempts to ensure consistency between areas about the assessments made.

Yes. You have to be resident in the area covered by the council or Health and Social Care Trust. Charities are often more flexible about people who do not live locally. Since social workers also work with homeless people the definition of ‘resident’ does not necessarily mean a permanent address.

Some services are free to everyone, while other services have a charge. Those on a low income may be able to receive the services at a discount rate or free. What is charged for and how much a person has to pay for a service varies between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and between different local authorities. The charge may be all or part of the cost. Charities funded to provide a service by a council or Health and Social Care Board often provide a free service.

Most people subject to immigration control are excluded from entitlement to most social care services. This includes undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and people with leave to remain subject to the condition that they have no recourse to public funds. However, individuals whose poor health means that they need to be ‘looked after’ may be entitled to some services including residential accommodation.

In addition, some asylum seekers are able to get some support from the UK Border Agency, rather than from a local authority.

People are entitled to have an assessment which evaluates what their needs are. However, the local authority is not always obliged to provide services to meet those needs. Provision is different in different local authorities, depending on the available resources and local eligibility criteria. Generally, only people with quite considerable social care needs will be eligible for a service.

Children suffering significant abuse from the people they live with are entitled to protection and accommodation by the state. Everyone under 18 who is being looked after by the state or has been in care is entitled to support, and in certain circumstances this can continue up to the age of 24.

As with the NHS, there is a strong push to involve users in deciding on how services work and are run. Local authorities have different systems of how they operate, but many parts of social care have their own user group.