Everyday care and independence
Your council can assess help with daily tasks and discuss home care, equipment, adaptations or community support.
NHS: care needs assessments →People, families & carers · Free information
Support for you.
A voice in your care.
Find help with daily life, caring and wellbeing. Understand your rights and decide what to ask for next.
For people seeking support for themselves, and for families, friends and unpaid carers. You can use this information whether or not services are already involved.
Care Act information for England. The adult assessment checklist is for people aged 18 or over, including adults caring for another adult. Under 18 or outside England?
Where to start
What help is available?
Ask about the help that matters to you. Services, waiting times and charges vary locally.
Support for unpaid carers
Ask about breaks, practical advice, peer support and an emergency plan if you cannot continue caring. A local carers organisation can help you find what is available.
Find local support through Carers Trust →Carers UK advice →Mental health and wellbeing
Speak to your GP about your wellbeing and local support. Adults registered with a GP can usually refer themselves to NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression without a GP referral.
NHS talking therapies →NHS wellbeing resources →Money and practical advice
Check benefits and financial support for disability, ill health or caring. An assessment of your care needs is separate from a benefits claim.
GOV.UK: disability and health benefits →GOV.UK: support for carers →Citizens Advice: benefits advice →Someone to help you be heard
An independent advocate can help you understand options, express your wishes and question decisions. Ask your council about local advocacy.
When the council must arrange advocacy →NHS: finding an advocate →Safety and protection
For abuse, neglect or domestic abuse, use the appropriate safeguarding or specialist support route. You do not need to complete this checklist first.
How to raise a safeguarding concern →Find safeguarding and domestic abuse help →Your voice matters
Your rights to assessment and involvement
In England, a council must assess an adult who appears to need care and support, regardless of finances or whether it expects them to qualify for funded support. It must also assess an adult carer who appears to need support. Care Act statutory guidance, chapter 6.
- Be involved. Explain what matters to you and ask for support to take part.
- Have your needs considered. Say what is difficult, including tasks you manage only because someone helps.
- Understand the decision. Ask for your assessment and the eligibility decision in writing.
- Plan and review support. Where the council meets needs, agree a care and support plan or carer’s support plan. Ask for a review when circumstances change.
Read more: GOV.UK Care Act factsheets and NHS care and support plans.
Independent advocacy
The council must arrange independent advocacy for Care Act processes when you would have substantial difficulty taking part and there is no appropriate person to support and represent you. Difficulty can involve understanding, remembering, weighing information or communicating your views. This can apply to carers too.
You do not have to lack mental capacity to qualify. Having a relative does not automatically mean they are an appropriate supporter. Ask for accessible information, an interpreter or other communication support when needed.
Safety and your voice · Adults in England
What does safeguarding mean?
Safeguarding means helping people live safely, free from abuse and neglect. Abuse can include harm, threats, controlling behaviour, taking someone's money, or failing to provide care they need. It can happen at home, in a service or in the community.
What must the council do? Section 42 in plain English
The council must make enquiries, or arrange for someone else to do so, when it has reason to suspect that an adult:
- has needs for care and support;
- is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect; and
- because of those needs, cannot protect themselves from that abuse or neglect.
This duty applies whether or not the council is already providing care. An enquiry means finding out what needs to happen to protect the person and who should act. The person should be listened to and supported to take part.
Care Act statutory guidance, chapter 14. These are the adult safeguarding rules for England.
You can raise a concern yourself
You do not need to be a professional. You can raise a concern about yourself, a relative, someone you care for or another adult. You do not need to prove abuse or decide whether the legal conditions are met before asking for help.
Contact the council's adult safeguarding team where the person is, or ask adult social care to direct you. Look for “report an adult safeguarding concern” on the council website. Some councils call this a referral.
Find the council to contact →GOV.UK: reporting abuse. Safeguarding concerns can involve adults of any age.
What to tell them
Explain what happened, when and where; what you are worried may happen next; the person's care or support needs; and what they want, if known. Say whether anyone needs help now and how it is safe to contact you.
Ask who will respond and what happens next. If you do not hear back, follow up; explain any increased risk. The council can consider other help even when a Section 42 enquiry is not required.
For immediate danger, call 999. If you are concerned about a child, contact children's social care or the police through the relevant route.
Urgent help and specialist support →Words you can use
“I would like to raise an adult safeguarding concern. I am worried about abuse or neglect and the person's safety. Please tell me how to give you the information securely and what will happen next.”
This website does not report the concern for you. Contact the council or emergency service directly. Do not send personal case information through our pathway suggestion form.
Learning after serious harm or a death · England
Can I ask for a Safeguarding Adults Review?
Yes. Individuals, families, carers and others can ask the local Safeguarding Adults Board to consider a Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR). This may be called a SAR referral or request. The Board brings organisations together to improve safeguarding; it decides whether a review should take place.
Section 44: when a review is required
The case must involve an adult in the Board's area with care and support needs, whether or not they received council care. There must be reasonable concern about how organisations worked together to safeguard them. The Board must also know or suspect either that:
- the adult died because of abuse or neglect; or
- the adult is alive and experienced serious abuse or neglect.
The Board can also arrange a review in other cases involving an adult with care and support needs. A person does not have to have died for a SAR to be considered.
Care Act guidance, paragraphs 14.162–14.165.
How to ask
- Find the Safeguarding Adults Board for the area concerned. Its website should explain the SAR referral process; ask the council for the Board's contact details if needed.
- Explain what happened, the care and support needs, the serious harm or death, and your concerns about how services worked together. Ask how to share any relevant information securely.
- Ask for acknowledgement, the decision and reasons, and how you or the family can contribute. If a review is declined, ask about the Board's local reconsideration process and other ways the concerns will be addressed.
For an example of a public referral route, Tower Hamlets explains that members of the public can refer a case. Use the Board for the relevant area; local forms and arrangements vary.
Words you can use
“I would like the Safeguarding Adults Board to consider a review under Section 44 of the Care Act. I am concerned about serious abuse or neglect, or a death, and how organisations worked together. Please explain how to make a SAR referral and how I will be told the decision.”
A SAR looks for learning to improve services. It does not provide immediate protection, decide criminal responsibility or replace a complaint or inquest. Raise any current safety concern separately; do not wait for the review decision. A request does not automatically start a review.
No SAR referral is sent from this page. You or someone helping you must contact the relevant Board.
Information for families and friends after a death
Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews
A Domestic Abuse Related Death Review (DARDR) looks for lessons when someone aged 16 or over has died, or appears to have died, as a result of domestic abuse. This can include homicide, suicide, neglect and unexplained deaths where domestic abuse may be involved.
In England, families and friends can write directly to the local Community Safety Partnership (CSP) to ask for the death to be considered. Ask the council for its community safety team if you cannot find the Partnership's contact details. Explain why you think domestic abuse may be relevant.
The Partnership considers the circumstances and decides the review route. Raising a concern does not automatically start a full DARDR. Ask about independent specialist advocacy, how the family will be involved and how decisions will be explained.
See the Home Office guidance (PDF), sections 2–4, for review criteria and notifying a death. The Home Office page also explains which guidance applies to earlier reviews. Arrangements differ across the UK.
Support for families
AAFDA — Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse offers specialist advocacy and support to families and friends after a domestic abuse-related death.
If both a SAR and a DARDR may be relevant, ask the Board and Partnership how the processes will be coordinated. This page does not notify either body or send a referral.
A quick starting point · Adults in England
Should I ask for an assessment?
Tick any examples that fit. You can select more than one group. This suggests questions to raise; it does not decide eligibility or replace a council assessment. You can still ask for help if none of these examples fits.
The checklist uses the assessment and advocacy principles explained above. Your ticks are used only on this page; this checklist does not send or save them.
Your suggested next steps
These are starting points for a conversation with the council, not an assessment result or a promise of funding.
No referral or assessment request has been sent. You need to contact the relevant service yourself to ask for help.
Ask for a care and support needs assessment
Why: you have identified difficulties that may affect daily life or wellbeing. Explain what happens without help, as well as what support already makes possible.
Ask for your own carer’s assessment
Why: your support needs and the effect of caring deserve a separate conversation, including whether you can and want to continue.
Ask about advocacy and communication support
Why: help may be needed to take part fully. Explain the difficulty and ask whether an independent advocate must be arranged. This tick alone does not establish an entitlement.
No examples selected. This does not mean you are ineligible. If you think you need help with daily life or caring, you can still ask the council for an assessment or advice.
You can ask for both assessments. They concern different people’s needs. Discuss whether to meet together or separately.
Take the next step
How to ask for an assessment
Contact adult social care at the council where the adult needing care lives. For a carer’s assessment in England, start with that adult’s council, even if you live elsewhere. Find the council. Carers UK explains the assessment routes.
For care and support needs
You could say:
“I would like a Care Act needs assessment. I am finding some parts of daily life difficult and would like to discuss the support I may need. Please explain how to request an assessment and what happens next.”
For your needs as a carer
You could say:
“I provide unpaid care for an adult and would like a carer’s assessment. I need to discuss how caring affects me and what support would help. Please let me know how to arrange this.”
Before you speak to the council: make a short note of what is difficult, how often it happens, what matters to you, and what you would like to change. Mention good days and difficult days, and any communication support you need. Give personal details directly to the council through its approved contact route.
If waiting is unsafe: tell adult social care clearly that the situation is urgent and ask about immediate support or its out-of-hours service. Do not wait for this checklist or a routine appointment in an emergency.
Common questions
People, families and carers: FAQs
Can I raise a safeguarding concern without a professional?
Yes. Contact the council's adult safeguarding team yourself. Explain your worries; you do not need to establish whether a Section 42 enquiry is required. How to raise a concern. For immediate danger, call 999.
Is a Section 42 enquiry the same as a Section 44 SAR?
No. A Section 42 enquiry considers what action is needed to protect an adult from abuse or neglect. A Section 44 Safeguarding Adults Review looks for learning after a death or serious abuse or neglect, where the review conditions apply. How to ask about a SAR.
Can a death by suicide be considered for a domestic abuse review?
Yes, where domestic abuse may be linked to the death. Family and friends can raise this with the local Community Safety Partnership; it decides how the case should be considered. Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews and family support.
Do I need a diagnosis or a professional referral?
You can contact the council yourself. Explain the difficulties and their effect on daily life; you do not need a particular diagnosis to ask. An assessment explores needs and what could help. NHS assessment guidance.
Are assessments and care free?
Needs assessments and carer’s assessments are free. Services offered afterwards are not always free: charges depend on the support and financial assessment rules. Ask for a clear explanation before agreeing to charges. NHS: paying for care.
Can I ask if I work, have savings or already have family help?
Yes. These do not prevent a needs assessment. The council should consider the help you need, including needs currently met by family. Finances are considered separately when deciding charges. Care Act guidance, paragraphs 6.13–6.15.
Do I need to receive Carer’s Allowance or care for a set number of hours?
No. A carer’s assessment has no minimum-hours requirement and is separate from Carer’s Allowance. Caring can include emotional support, keeping someone safe or helping organise everyday life. Carers UK: who can ask.
Can I get my own assessment if the person I care for does not want help?
Yes. Your carer’s assessment is separate; the other person does not need to have had a needs assessment. You can ask to speak privately about your caring role. Carers UK assessment advice.
Can I ask for help for a relative or friend?
You can raise concerns and ask the council how to help. Involve the person and respect their wishes. A diagnosis or a decision others consider unwise does not by itself mean someone cannot decide. Where decision-making is difficult, ask about support, advocacy and the Mental Capacity Act. NHS: decision-making rights.
What if the council says no, or I disagree with the outcome?
Ask for the reasons in writing and explain anything missed or changed. You can use the council’s complaints procedure. If the complaint remains unresolved, consider the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Advice should still be offered about other help if needs do not qualify for council support. NHS: results and complaints.
What if needs change after an assessment?
Contact the council and ask for a review. Explain what changed and whether the current support is still enough. If a plan is revised, ask for an updated copy and clear arrangements for who will provide each part of the support. NHS: care and support plans.
What if someone is leaving hospital?
Tell the ward or discharge team about practical needs, safety worries and what family or carers can realistically do. Ask how support will be arranged and whom to contact if it does not work. NHS: planning to leave hospital.
What if someone needs help urgently?
For immediate danger, call 999. For urgent care or support needs, contact the council and explain why waiting is unsafe. For urgent mental health help in England, call 111 and choose the mental health option. Safeguarding and domestic abuse support.
What about children, young carers and parent carers?
This adult checklist does not decide children’s entitlements. Under-18 carers can ask the council’s children’s services about a young carer’s assessment. Parents of a disabled child can ask about the child’s needs and a parent carer’s needs assessment. Ask early about transition to adult services.
NHS: young carers’ rights · GOV.UK: support for disabled children and families.
What if I live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
The Care Act assessment routes on this page apply to England. Different legislation and arrangements apply elsewhere. Use the relevant national assessment information and contact your council, or Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. Carers UK: assessment information for all four nations.
Does this checklist send a referral or save my answers?
No. Your ticks stay in the open page and are not submitted to PS Safeguarding or a council. Use “Clear my ticks” to remove them. To request help, contact the service yourself using its contact details.