Eligibility Criteria

Who we can help - eligibility

The Care Act 2014 sets out a national level of care and support needs that all councils consider when we assess what help we can give to you. This may result in you being eligible for care and support, and will make it easier for you to plan for the future.

How we decide who is eligible for support from social services

Haringey uses the Government’s national eligibility criteria (external link) to determine whether you are eligible for support from social services. Your first step is to contact our First Response Team. If they agree that you may need help from Social Services, we will decide whether or not you meet the criteria for support by carrying out an assessment with you. Any decisions about your care and support will consider your wellbeing and what is important to you and your family, so you can stay healthy and remain independent for longer.

How does the eligibility criteria work?

The eligibility criteria provide a way to measure whether your care and support needs mean that you qualify to receive social care services. We use the criteria when we assess your care and support needs. There are three main areas that we will look at with you:

1. Your health
2. How this affects your ability to do certain things
3. Your wellbeing

How will I know if I have eligible needs?

After the assessment we will write to you about our decision and give you the reasons behind that decision. If you have eligible needs, we will contact you to discuss what help might be available. This will be based on the information you gave us during your assessment. As far as possible the council will agree your care and support plan with you.

If you do not have needs that are eligible, we will give you information and advice about what care and support is available to help you locally. For example this could be help from local charities or voluntary organisations.

For carers eligibility, see our Carer’s Eligibility & Assessment page.

To understand the Act and what we are doing in Haringey to implement it, see our Care Act 2014 pages.

Back to top