Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

(1) Where it appears to a local authority that a child is likely to have needs for care and support after becoming 18, the authority must, if it is satisfied that it would be of significant benefit to the child to do so and if the consent condition is met, assess—
(a) whether the child has needs for care and support and, if so, what those needs are, and
(b) whether the child is likely to have needs for care and support after becoming 18 and, if so, what those needs are likely to be.

(2) An assessment under subsection (1) is referred to in this Part as a “child's needs assessment”.

...

(5) Where a local authority, having received a request to carry out a child's assessment from the child concerned or a parent or carer of the child, decides not to comply with the request, it must give the person who made the request—
(a) written reasons for its decision, and
(b) information and advice about what can be done to prevent or delay the development by the child of needs for care and support in the future.

[Section 60 of the Care Act makes identical provisions for a CHIL'S CARER'S ASSESSMENT in respect of the support needs of a child's carer after the child turns 18. This includes the duty to provide information and advice set out in sub-section 5.]