Care Act 2014

65 Assessments under sections 58 to 64: further provision

(1) Regulations under section 12—

(a) may make such provision about carrying out a child’s needs assessment as they may make about carrying out a needs assessment;

(b) may make such provision about carrying out a child’s carer’s assessment or a young carer’s assessment as they may make about carrying out a carer’s assessment.

(2) A local authority may combine a child’s needs assessment or young carer’s assessment with an assessment it is carrying out (whether or not under this Part) in relation to another person only if the consent condition is met in relation to the child to whom the child’s needs or young carer’s assessment relates and—

(a) where the combination would include an assessment relating to another child, the consent condition is met in relation to that other child;

(b) where the combination would include an assessment relating to an adult, the adult agrees.

(3) A local authority may combine a child’s carer’s assessment with an assessment it is carrying out (whether or not under this Part) in relation to another person only if the adult to whom the child’s carer’s assessment relates agrees and—

(a) where the combination would include an assessment relating to another adult, that other adult agrees, and

(b) where the combination would include an assessment relating to a child, the consent condition is met in relation to that child.

(4) The consent condition is met in relation to a child if—

(a) the child has capacity or is competent to agree to the assessments being combined and does so agree, or

(b) the child lacks capacity or is not competent so to agree but the local authority is satisfied that combining the assessments would be in the child’s best interests.

(5) Where a local authority is carrying out a child’s needs assessment, a child’s carer’s assessment or a young carer’s assessment, and there is some other assessment being or about to be carried out in relation to the person to whom the assessment relates or in relation to a relevant person, the local authority may carry out that other assessment—

(a) on behalf of or jointly with the body responsible for carrying it out, or

(b) if that body has arranged to carry out the other assessment jointly with another person, jointly with that body and the other person.

(6) A reference to an assessment includes a reference to part of an assessment.

(7) A person is a “relevant person”, in relation to a child’s needs, child’s carer’s or young carer’s assessment, if it would be reasonable to combine an assessment relating to that person with the child’s needs, child’s carer’s or young carer’s assessment (as mentioned in subsections (2) and (3)).