Key terms for Local Offer

Local Offer provides information on what services children, young people and their families can expect from a range of local agencies, including education, health and social care. 

Advocacy 

The representation of a person’s voice, legal rights and entitlements. The local authority and health services have contracts with advocacy organisations to offer advocacy support in specific circumstances. Your key worker or care manager/social worker can provide you with more information. 

Annual review 

Annual reviews begin in Year 9 and focus on the child’s special education needs and plans for the future. This entails transition and person-centred planning, so that the young person is prepared for adulthood. The school sets a date for the meeting and invites the circle of support: family, advocates, social care, health and education professionals, etc. An annual review will continue to take place whilst the child/young person remains in school/further education. 

Assessment 

An assessment is how a local authority decides whether a person needs care and support to help them in their day-to-day life. 

Care management 

The model adopted by the local authority in adult services to support a vulnerable individual – taking into account personal preferences - through a package of care to help the individual to live an independent life. 

Carer’s assessment  

An assessment of the carer’s own needs and the impact of being a carer, as well as their ability to continue to care, and any services and interventions needed to deliver agreed outcomes. 

Customer 

A user of a service and is the alternative term (used) to ‘service user’ or ‘client’.  

Care Quality Commission (CQC) 

The CQC inspects services such as hospitals, care homes and GPs in England to provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care. The CQC will make recommendations for service improvement (where necessary) and publish their findings to help people make choices about the care they receive. 

Direct payments 

Local authorities and health organisations can either arrange services on behalf of an individual or give them a direct payment. This is money given directly to the customer, enabling them to organise their own care services rather than these services arranged by the local authority. 

Domiciliary care 

Also known as homecare, domiciliary care is the delivery of a range of personal care and support services to individuals in their own homes.  

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) 

An assessment of education, health and care needs, which will replace Statements of Special Education Needs and Learning Disability Assessments (s.139a).  

Empower 

The term ‘empower’ or ‘empowerment’ refers to helping (someone) become stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.  

Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) 

FACS is the national eligibility framework in England for prioritising the use of adult social care (ASC) resources. It is made up of four bands: critical, substantial, moderate and low. Customers are eligible for ASC depending on the band they meet set out by the Local Authority (LA).  

House adaptations 

Occupational therapists can assess your need for major adaptations to your house. For more information speak to a key worker, social worker or care manager. 

Independent living 

Reflects the principle that disabled people have choice and control over their own lives and have the right to enjoy the same civil rights as non-disabled people: to live in local communities with appropriate support. 

Mental Capacity Act 

The Mental Capacity Act applies to people aged 16 or over and provides a statutory framework to empower and protect people who may lack capacity to make some decisions for themselves, for example, people with dementia, learning disabilities, mental health problems, stroke or head injuries. Whenever the term ‘a person who lacks capacity’ is used, it means a person who lacks capacity to make a particular decision or take a particular action for themselves at the time the decision or action needs to be taken.  

The 5 statutory principles are:

1. A person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that they lack capacity.  
2. A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to help him (to do so) have been taken without success.  
3. A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision merely because he makes an unwise decision.  
4. An act done or a decision made under this Act, for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done, or made, in his/her best interests.  
5. Before the act is done, or the decision is made, regard must be given to whether the purpose for which it is needed can be effectively achieved in a way that is less restrictive of the person’s rights and freedom of action.  

The Act makes clear who can make decisions in certain situations and how they should go about this, such as: healthcare treatment, where a person lives, and every day decisions about personal care, etc. For more information contact your keyworker, social worker or care manager or visit the Department of Health website. 

Outcome 

A visible or practical product, effect or consequence of a particular service intervention. For example, if a person wants to get a job, this is an outcome they want to achieve. The service/provision should help you in reaching this personal goal. 

Personal budget 

If the customer is eligible to receive support from the council, they can be made aware of how much this support will cost. The cost of their individual package of care is called their personal budget. A customer may then choose to have this money via a Direct Payment or ask the local authority to arrange services on their behalf or have a mixture of council arranged services and a Direct Payment. Customers can use their personal budget to purchase services that meets their needs and desired outcomes. The choice to have a direct payment instead of a service is expanding into education and health services. Talk with your key worker regarding your personal circumstances. 

Person-centred planning 

The users of a service should be at the heart of service provision in order to be person-centred. Person-centred planning is commonly known as the process of life planning for individuals based on the principles of rights, choice and inclusion. 

Safeguarding 

Safeguarding means protecting people’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. It is fundamental to creating high-quality health and social care. Safeguarding entails multidisciplinary work to minimise and manage risk to people who may be vulnerable. Safeguarding procedures and policies involves responding to alerts through contact, assessment, planning, reviewing and working with people to prevent/minimise risk to self and others.  

Support planning 

A support plan is a document that shows how the customer wants their personal budget to be used. The local authority will have to agree your support plan, which will focus on the following areas: What is important to you? What do you want to change? How will you arrange your support? How will you spend your money? How will you manage your support? How will you stay in control? What will you do next?