General duties of local authorities

Duty of local authorities to provide information on care and support

A local authority must provide information and advice about care and support for adults, and support for carers. This must be accessible to, and proportionate to the needs of, its audience.

It must include information on how to raise concerns about the safety or wellbeing of an adult needing care and support.

The service should be available to everyone in the local authority’s area, regardless of whether they have needs for care and support. Where reasonable, it should also include services outside the authority’s area that are usually available to its local population.

Reference: Section 4 of the Care Act 2014

General duty of local authorities to cooperate with adult social care providers

A local authority must cooperate with other agencies who support:

• adults needing care and support
• their carers
• children transitioning to adult social care.

This can include charities and voluntary organisations. However, there is no obligation on charities and voluntary organisations to have to cooperate with the local authority.

Reference: Section 6 of the Care Act 2014

The key statutory guidance for public providers is revised regularly by the secretary of state.

Reference: Care and support statutory guidance