Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000

The Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 received royal assent on 20 July 2000. The Act established a carer's right to request that their local authority carry out an assessment of their needs and ability to care for a person.

Unlike previous legislation, the carer could request an assessment if the person they were caring for was having their own assessment, but the Act only applied to carers over the age of 16. Following assessment, local authorities were given powers to provide services directly to carers for the first time.

Section 3 of the Act made provisions to allow local authorities to issue vouchers to a cared-for person, to arrange for someone else to provide care support. This enabled the carer to take a short break from their caring responsibilities.

Section 5 made amendments to the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996, which enabled local authorities to make direct payments to carers.