National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990

55 Duty of local authority to make assessment of needs

After section 12 of the 1968 Act there shall be inserted the following section—

“12A Duty of local authority to assess needs

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where it appears to a local authority that any person for whom they are under a duty or have a power to provide, or to secure the provision of, community care services may be in need of any such services, the authority—

(a) shall make an assessment of the needs of that person for those services; and

(b) having regard to the results of that assessment, shall then decide whether the needs of that person call for the provision of any such services.

(2) Before deciding, under subsection (1)(b) of this section, that the needs of any person call for the provision of nursing care, a local authority shall consult a medical practitioner.

(3) If, while they are carrying out their duty under subsection (1) of this section, it appears to a local authority that there may be a need for the provision to any person to whom that subsection applies—

(a) of any services under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 by the Health Board—

(i) in whose area he is ordinarily resident; or

(ii) in whose area the services to be supplied by the local authority are, or are likely, to be provided; or

(b) of any services which fall within the functions of a housing authority (within the meaning of section 130 (housing) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973) which is not the local authority carrying out the assessment,

the local authority shall so notify that Health Board or housing authority, and shall request information from them as to what services are likely to be made available to that person by that Health Board or housing authority; and, thereafter, in carrying out their said duty, the local authority shall take into account any information received by them in response to that request.

(4) Where a local authority are making an assessment under this section and it appears to them that the person concerned is a disabled person, they shall—

(a) proceed to make such a decision as to the services he requires as is mentioned in section 4 of the [1986 c. 33.] Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 without his requesting them to do so under that section; and

(b) inform him that they will be doing so and of his rights under that Act.

(5) Nothing in this section shall prevent a local authority from providing or arranging for the provision of community care services for any person without carrying out a prior assessment of his needs in accordance with the preceding provisions of this section if, in the opinion of the authority, the condition of that person is such that he requires those services as a matter of urgency.

(6) If, by virtue of subsection (5) of this section, community care services have been provided for any person as a matter of urgency, then, as soon as practicable thereafter, an assessment of his needs shall be made in accordance with the preceding provisions of this section.

(7) This section is without prejudice to section 3 of the said Act of 1986.

(8) In this section—

• “community care services” has the same meaning as in section 5A of this Act;

• “disabled person” has the same meaning as in the said Act of 1986; and

• “medical practitioner” means a fully registered person within the meaning of section 55 (interpretation) of the Medical Act 1983.”