3. Assessment, eligibility, planning and reasons

3.1 A lawful assessment

  • Covers daytime, night-time, episodic and fluctuating needs.
  • Uses accessible communication and allows time for fatigue-related loss of speech.
  • Separates what a person can do once from what can be done safely, reliably, repeatedly and at an appropriate time.
  • Records the impact on well-being, not merely the task that cannot be completed.
  • Identifies what unpaid supporters are actually willing and able to do; it does not assume their availability.
  • Obtains specialist input where the assessor lacks competence to determine complex physical, neurological or trauma-related questions.

    • 3.2 Reasons and the personal budget

    A conclusion must be reasoned enough to show the path from assessed need to provision. A bare allocation of ten hours does not answer why risks outside those hours are met. Conversely, disagreement with the outcome does not itself prove unlawfulness. The record should identify each need, the proposed response, frequency, duration, contingency, responsible service and budget assumption.

    Exam problem Suppose the authority accepts night-time flashbacks and fainting but funds daytime visits only. The claimant should ask whether the night need was found ineligible, found met by another service, treated as preventable by equipment, or omitted. Each answer raises a different legal and evidential issue.

    3.3 Review versus fresh assessment

    A material change, newly documented risk, repeated failure of the present plan, withdrawal of informal help, or new clinical evidence may justify review and reassessment. The request should identify the change and the precise defect in the current plan rather than merely repeat the desired total.

    Every proposed substitute should be tested. For technology: can it be activated during speech loss or unconsciousness, who receives the alert, and what is the response time? For informal care: has the named person agreed, and what are their limits? For an on-call service: what happens when staff are occupied? A label such as “family support” or “telecare” is not a completed contingency plan.