(1)A local authority must provide or arrange for the provision of services, facilities or resources, or take other steps, which it considers will—
(a)contribute towards preventing or delaying the development by adults in its area of needs for care and support;
(b)contribute towards preventing or delaying the development by carers in its area of needs for support;
(c)reduce the needs for care and support of adults in its area;
(d)reduce the needs for support of carers in its area.
(2)In performing that duty, a local authority must have regard to—
(a)the importance of identifying services, facilities and resources already available in the authority’s area and the extent to which the authority could involve or make use of them in performing that duty;
(b)the importance of identifying adults in the authority’s area with needs for care and support which are not being met (by the authority or otherwise);
(c)the importance of identifying carers in the authority’s area with needs for support which are not being met (by the authority or otherwise).
(3)Regulations may—
(a)permit a local authority to make a charge for providing or arranging for the provision of services, facilities or resources, or for taking other steps, under this section;
(b)prohibit a local authority from making a charge it would otherwise be permitted to make by virtue of paragraph (a).
(4)The regulations may in particular (in reliance on section 125(7)) make provision by reference to services, facilities or resources which—
(a)are of a specified type;
(b)are provided in specified circumstances;
(c)are provided to an adult of a specified description;
(d)are provided for a specified period only.
(5)A charge under the regulations may cover only the cost that the local authority incurs in providing or arranging for the provision of the service, facility or resource or for taking the other step.
(6)In cases where a local authority performs the duty under subsection (1) jointly with one or more other local authorities in relation to the authorities’ combined area—
(a)references in this section to a local authority are to be read as references to the authorities acting jointly, and
(b)references in this section to a local authority’s area are to be read as references to the combined area.
(7)Sections 21 (exception for persons subject to immigration control), 22 (exception for provision of health services) and 23 (exception for provision of housing etc.) apply in relation to the duty under subsection (1), but with the modifications set out in those sections.
(8)“Adult” means a person aged 18 or over.