Guidance

Deafblind people: guidance for local authorities

This explains how local authorities should act in relation to care and support for deafblind adults and children.

Documents

Details

Local authorities are required to act under this guidance under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 (for children) and section 78 of the Care Act 2014 (for adults).

They have to:

  • make contact with and keep a record of all deafblind people
  • ensure assessments of need for care and support is are carried out by people with specific training and expertise
  • provide appropriate services for deafblind people
  • provide specially trained one-to-one support workers when necessary
  • provide accessible information for deafblind people
  • ensure that a Director-level member of the local authority senior team has overall responsibility for deafblind services.
Published 18 December 2014