Social care
Section 148: Ordinary residence for certain purposes of National Assistance Act 1948 etc.
510.Section 24 of the National Assistance Act 1948 provides that a patient in an NHS hospital is to be treated for the purposes of the provision of residential accommodation under Part 3 of that Act as being ordinarily resident in the area where he was ordinarily resident before he was admitted to hospital. Subsection (1) extends this rule to apply also to accommodation provided by the NHS in places other than NHS hospitals.
511.Subsection (2) requires the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers to make and publish arrangements for determining which ordinary residence disputes arising under part 3 of the National Assistance Act 1948 are to be dealt with by the Secretary of State and which are to be dealt with by the Welsh Ministers. The arrangements can include provision for the determination of cross-border ordinary residence disputes between English and Welsh local authorities.
512.The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 gives local authorities a statutory duty to make arrangements for individuals who are ordinarily resident in their area, if the local authority considers the arrangements necessary to meet certain specified needs of that person, as listed in section 2 of that Act. These needs might include, for example, the provision of assistance to participate in recreational or learning activities, the provision of meals at home or elsewhere, or the provision of assistance in obtaining telephone or any other special equipment. The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 does not state explicitly whom local authorities should approach to resolve ordinary residence disputes under section 2. Subsection (3) brings provisions relating to determinations of ordinary residence disputes under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 in line with the National Assistance Act 1948 by providing that any ordinary residence disputes are referred to the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers for a determination (in accordance with the arrangements made and published under the National Assistance Act 1948).