WITH a new Care Act coming into force in England next month, St Helens Council says it is already in a strong position with regards to adult social care provision.

The act will be introduced on April 1 and aims to make access to care and support fairer and more consistent nationally.

However, St Helens Council says for residents many of the proposals are in place and that services will be further developed rather than fundamentally changed.

St Helens Council’s cabinet member for adult social care and health Councillor Joe Pearson said: “In St Helens we are very proud of the high quality of our Adult Social Care, and our ability to maintain strong levels of performance in spite of the considerable reductions in national funding that the Council receives.

“We welcome the fact that the Care Act should help to improve services and bring greater national consistency to Adult Social Care provision. We will continue to work closely with all our partners to deliver the highest

quality services possible.”

The Care Act will be introduced in two main phases with the first phase in April. Changes include a new national eligibility threshold to ensure if someone's needs meet the threshold they're eligible for support. St Helens took part in national research which showed that it had been easier to get social care services in the area than in many other parts of England.

Also carers can ask for an individual carer’s assessment that may lead to a Direct Payment to buy in support to carry on caring or to give them a break.

Deferred payments agreements, a loan against the value of your property to pay for social care, are also part of the Act and have been available in St Helens since 2001.