The Care Act, introduced in April 2014, includes new legislation and seeks to provide clarity about which local authority is responsible for a person’s care and support, depending on where the service user lives or spends the majority of their time. It is clear that the process of determining a person’s ordinary residence must not delay the process of meeting needs. In cases where ordinary residence is unclear, the local authority should meet the individual’s needs first and then resolve the question of residence.

The Policy explains in detail how to determine ordinary residence, cases where a person lacks capacity, people who have no settled residence, arrange accommodation in another area, NHS accommodation, mental health aftercare and various other common situations.