Coronavirus Care Act easements to be removed

Wed,24 March 2021
News Health & Social Care

The Care Act easements which allowed local authorities to remove Disabled people’s rights to social care under the Coronavirus Act, are to be removed ‘at some point’ after Easter.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said that: “We are rightly ending as many national measures as safely as possible, while maintaining those which remain necessary and proportionate to help reduce and control infections further as we cautiously but irreversibly ease restrictions and our historic vaccination programme continues apace.”

Eight local authorities in England used the easements at the start of the pandemic, but the powers have not been used since 29 June 2020.

In a new report on its one-year review of the 2020 Act the government says that the decision has been made to expire twelve sections that are no longer seen as necessary to respond to the pandemic, including section 15 that relates to 'Local authority care and support' in England.

Read the one-year review report here.