(1)Where it appears to a local authority that a young carer is likely to have needs for support after becoming 18, the authority must, if it is satisfied that it would be of significant benefit to the young carer to do so and if the consent condition is met, assess—
(a)whether the young carer has needs for support and, if so, what those needs are, and
(b)whether the young carer is likely to have needs for support after becoming 18 and, if so, what those needs are likely to be.
(2)An assessment under subsection (1) is referred to in this Part as a “young carer’s assessment”.
(3)The consent condition is met if—
(a)the young carer has capacity or is competent to consent to a young carer’s assessment being carried out and the young carer does so consent, or
(b)the young carer lacks capacity or is not competent so to consent but the authority is satisfied that carrying out a young carer’s assessment would be in the young carer’s best interests.
(4)Where a young carer refuses a young carer’s assessment and the consent condition is accordingly not met, the local authority must nonetheless carry out the assessment if the young carer is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect.
(5)Where a local authority, having received a request to carry out a young carer’s assessment from the young carer concerned or a parent of the young carer, decides not to comply with the request, it must give the person who made the request—
(a)written reasons for its decision, and
(b)advice and information about what can be done to prevent or delay the development by the young carer of needs for support in the future.
(6)“Young carer” means a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for an adult (but see subsection (7)).
(7)A person is not a young carer for the purposes of this section if the person provides or intends to provide care—
(a)under or by virtue of a contract, or
(b)as voluntary work.
(8)But in a case where the local authority considers that the relationship between the adult and the person under 18 providing or intending to provide care is such that it would be appropriate for the person under 18 to be regarded as a young carer, that person is to be regarded as such (and subsection (7) is therefore to be ignored in that case).
(9)The references to providing care include a reference to providing practical or emotional support.