Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

An Ethical Approach to Meeting Needs in Adult Social Care (BASW England: Draft policy, 12 November 2021)
The impact on ethical responsibilities in meeting need

1. Where people with care and support needs and carers have had their needs assessed as being eligible, the local authority has a legal duty to meet these needs (in most circumstances). Where the individual's financial circumstances are below certain levels, there is also a requirement that the local authority fund (wholly or partly) the personal budget that is deemed necessary to meet their needs.

2. Unmet need can occur as a result of delays in providing the necessary funding. It can also be due to misinterpretation of the law and statutory guidance (as evident in judicial reviews and complaints to the Ombudsman) or as a result of poor practice.

3. Unmet need can also occur where people wait for an assessment for an unreasonable amount of time, and therefore have potential unmet needs. From recent data produced by ADASS it has been calculated that in England there are over 7000 people who have been waiting for more than six months for an assessment. The requirement of the statutory guidance is that assessments should be carried out over an appropriate and reasonable timescale according to the urgency of those needs.

4. Where it is thought that the amount of the personal budget is not sufficient to fully meet eligible needs, this is sometimes described as under-met need. This can occur where a social worker's professional judgement has not been properly taken into consideration in determining what is sufficient to meet needs.

5. Where the decision-making is clear and transparent, as outlined below, potential unmet and under-met need can be identified openly and honestly. If it is clear how the personal budget has been worked out and how a social worker's professional judgment is taken into account, then disagreements with the final decision can be addressed.