Manchester City Council

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Everyone is entitled to a social care assessment.

People often ask about an assessment if they are having problems coping at home or are due to come out of hospital.

An assessment means that a care manager from Adult Social Care will help you work out the risks to your independence and wellbeing.

If you have a carer, he or she is entitled to ask for a separate assessment.

All assessments are free of charge.

But social care, unlike health care, is not free for everyone. Councils only have a limited amount of money, and cannot provide services direct to everyone. That's why we use the Government's Fair Access to Care Services guidance as part of the assessment, to help us decide what level of risk there is to you, and whether to pay for support.

There are four levels of risk set out in the guidance. These are: 

• Low, when there is little risk to your independence 
• Moderate, where there is some risk to your independence either now or in the near future 
• Substantial, where there are significant risks to your safety and independence 
• Critical, where there are immediate risks to your safety and independence You can find more detailed explanation of the levels of risk on the next page.

Manchester City Council currently funds support for people with a substantial or critical risk to their safety, independence or wellbeing. 

What if my needs are assessed as low or moderate?

If your needs are low or moderate, we can give you information and advice about community based services which can help you stay independent and help prevent your situation from getting worse.

We can refer you to services who can help you with problems with debt, housing or benefits, or advise on help with a short term issue. We can inform you where these services are based and we will also help you to contact them, should you need help in doing this.

Many of these services are free of charge, but if there is a cost we will not be able to pay for these services for you.

What if my needs are assessed as substantial or critical?

If your needs are substantial or critical, we will then work with you to agree what support will be best for you, how much of that support will be funded by the Council (if any) and how to arrange the support package. Your care manager will advise you about the best mix of support that suits your needs.

We will also want to carry out a financial assessment. Depending on your income, savings or assets, such as your home, you may have to pay for some or all of your care.

There are also government guidelines on how much you can have in savings or assets before you will be asked to pay for your care. You can find out more on our Paying for your support pages.