Health and social care rights

Social care needs assessments

• What's a social care needs assessment?
• When must the local authority assess me?
• How quickly will I be assessed?
• How's the assessment carried out?
• What if my needs change from day to day or month to month?
• What will I be asked about at a needs assessment?
• How will I be involved in my assessment?
• How can I prepare for my assessment?
• Can I refuse to be assessed?

What's a social care needs assessment?

The first stage in getting any social care is for the local authority to assess your needs. This is called a needs assessment, which helps the local authority gain a full picture of your care and support needs. It can then make informed decisions about whether you're eligible for support.

Your local authority cannot charge you for a needs assessment, whatever your financial circumstances are.

When must the local authority assess me?

If you’re an adult, the local authority is under a legal duty to assess you if it appears that you may have a need for care and support.

The local authority might think that you may have a need for care and support if:

• You tell them about it yourself. You can phone, email or write to the adult social services department of your local authority. You should be able to find out their contact details on their website
• Someone else tells adult social services about you because they believe you’re in need of care and support
• You're referred to social services from hospital, or following a safeguarding inquiry

The social services department are responsible for assessing your needs. But if any part of the local authority becomes aware that you may have needs for care and support, then the local authority has a duty to assess you.

What if I don't have needs for care and support now, but may in the future?

The law on social care says that local authorities should think about how they can prevent your needs for care and support from developing. If you don't currently have needs, but you're likely to develop them, you may wish to contact your local authority to tell them you want a needs assessment.

What if my needs for care and support are low?

Even if the local authority believes you may not be eligible for care and support, it still has a duty to assess you. If you're found not to be eligible, the assessment process may still help you. For example, you could be provided with useful information or learn about other types of community support.

How quickly will I be assessed?

There's no set timescale for the assessment process. The local authority will tell you how long it should take for your assessment to be completed. 

How's the assessment carried out?

An assessment can be carried out in a number of ways:

• Face-to face assessment. Your assessment will likely be carried out face-to-face with a social worker. The Code of Practice to the Care Act says that, in England, all assessments of people with mental health problems should take place face-to-face.
• Supported self-assessment. This is when you fill out a questionnaire given to you by the local authority. This should cover exactly the same information as a face-to-face assessment. The local authority should make sure that the information you fill in is an accurate reflection of your circumstances.
• Online or phone assessment. This is when the assessment is carried out online or on the phone.
• Joint assessments. This is when your needs assessment is carried out at the same time as the assessment of another adult. For example, another member of your household or a carer's assessment.
• Combined assessments. This is when a needs assessment is carried out at the same time as another assessment. For example, an assessment for continuing healthcare (CHC).

Who will assess me?

You'll be assessed by someone who has the right skills, training and experience. This may be:

• A social worker
• An occupational therapist
• Someone else who is suitably qualified

In Wales, you’ll generally be assessed by a social worker or someone who is being supervised by a social worker.

If the person assessing you does not have specialist knowledge of your condition or circumstances, they must consult with someone who does. For example, if you have mental health needs and the person assessing you is not an expert in this area, they must consult someone who is. This is to make sure that your needs are assessed accurately.

What if my needs change from day-to-day or month-to-month?

You may have times when you don't need much care and support for your condition. At other times, your needs may be greater. Your assessment should take into account that your needs may change in ways that you can't predict.

This means that the local authority might:

• Assess you over a longer period, so that it can get an accurate overall picture of what your needs are and how they impact your life
• Carry out the assessment over a shorter period, but only if it makes sure that it has an accurate picture of what your overall needs are

What will I be asked about at a needs assessment?

This will depend on whether you're in England or Wales.

How will I be involved in my assessment?

It's very important that the local authority involves you as much as possible in your assessment. This means they should consider things like:

• Giving you an interpreter if you have difficulty communicating
• Involving your family, carer or both, if this would help you
• Providing you with an advocate. This may help if you have difficulty understanding, retaining (remembering) or considering (thinking about) information. Or if you have problems communicating your wishes and beliefs. See our page on advocacy in social care for more information about this
• Helping you understand. They should fully explain the purpose of the assessment and how it's carried out. They should also provide you with information if you ask for it and answer any questions you may have

How can I prepare for my assessment?

You could make a note of some of the things you want from the assessment, as well as the care and support planning process. You can then take these notes to your assessment to help you discuss your needs.

Here are some things you could think about before your assessment:

• What your needs are and how you think social care and support might help you. For example, you may have needs relating to your self-care. You might want support keeping your flat clean and tidy and preparing food. 
• Outcomes that you want to achieve. What are your wishes, hopes and plans for life? For example, you might want to keep in touch with family or friends, live in your own flat, get a job or manage your money.
• What barriers there are to achieving your outcomes and plans for life.
• Whether you want someone to support you in the assessment process. This could be a family member, a friend or an independent advocate.
• Whether your needs are fluctuating. For example, you may be feeling well and not in need of care and support as you prepare for your assessment. But it might be useful to think about how your condition has affected you in the past. This will help you plan for how it might affect you in the future.

Can I refuse to be assessed?

Yes – if you refuse a needs assessment the local authority isn't under a duty to assess you. But there are some exceptions.

You can't refuse a needs assessment if:

• You lack the capacity to refuse, and the local authority believes that it's in your best interests to have an assessment
• The local authority believes you've experienced abuse or neglect, or are at risk of it (see our page on safeguarding in social care)

If you've refused an assessment, the local authority must still assess you if you change your mind. If you've refused an assessment, but the local authority considers that there's been a change of circumstances, they must carry out an assessment if that's what you want.

This information was published in February 2023. We will revise it in 2026. 

References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.