Social care is not the easiest area for the public to understand – though this situation will no doubt change as increasing numbers have to arrange support for older relatives – as touched upon in our Independent Ageing (pdf) report . The Law Commission Report provides an excellent basis on which to make the legislative aspects of social care more consistent and comprehensible.

Much of the document can be viewed as putting existing good practice on a statutory footing. Particularly welcome are recommendations for carers’ assessments which have a long history of confusion and poor performance. A more consistent national approach to care plans will also be helpful – people anywhere in the country ought to have clear documentation setting out the summary of their eligible needs, their care outcomes, their personal budget and financial contribution – instead of receiving repetitive documentation that manages to omit pertinent financial information.