Ordinary Residence

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1. Introduction

Many of the local authority’s care and support responsibilities apply to the entire local population (see for example Information and Advice or Reducing, Preventing or Delaying Needs chapters). However, the local authority is only required to meet the care and support needs of those adults who are ‘ordinarily resident’ its area (or are present there but have no settled residence, see Section 7, Persons with no Settled Residence).

Ordinary residence is used to decide which local authority is responsible for meeting the care and support needs of adults, and their carers. Whether the person is ordinarily resident in the local authority area is a key test in determining where responsibility lies for the funding and provision of care and support.

This chapter should also be read with the Care and Support Statutory Guidance, in particular the Annexes, which provide further detailed guidance on specific situations and circumstances which may arise, and where the question of ordinary residence may be unclear.

2. Statutory Provisions of the Care Act 2014 Relevant to Ordinary Residence

The statutory provisions of the Care Act relevant to ordinary residence are:

• Sections 9 and 10 – a duty to assess;
• Section 13 (1) eligibility criteria;
• Section 13 (3) and (4) ordinary residence.

Under Section 18(1)(a) of the Care Act 2014, the local authority has a duty to meet an adult’s eligible needs for care and support if they are ordinarily resident in the authority’s area or is present in its area but of no settled residence.

There is also a power for local authorities where no duty exists under the Care Act; Section 19(1) provides that a local authority, having carried out a needs assessment and, if required to do so a financial assessment, may meet an adult’s needs for care and support, if the adult is ordinarily resident in the authority’s area or is present in its area but of no settled residence, where the local authority have determined no duty under section 18.

3. How does Ordinary Residence affect the Provision of Care and Support?

Ordinary residence is one of the key tests which must be met as part of establishing if the local authority is required to meet an adult’s eligible needs for care and support. It is therefore crucial that the local authority establishes, at the appropriate time, whether an adult is ordinarily resident in their area, and the extent and nature of such duties that may arise.

The process of determining ordinary residence must not delay the process of meeting needs. In cases where ordinary residence is not certain, the local authority where that adult is physically present should meet their needs while the question of ordinary residence is being resolved. This is particularly important where there may be a dispute between two or more local authorities. If an adult has urgent needs for care and support these should be met, before completion of an assessment, regardless of the adult’s ordinary residence.

3.1 Adults and carers

The test for ordinary residence, applies differently in relation to adults and carers. For adults with care and support needs, the local authority in which the adult is ordinarily resident is responsible for meeting their eligible needs. For carers, however, the responsible local authority will be the one where the adult for whom they provide care is ordinarily resident. To establish responsibility for the provision of care and support for carers, the local authority will need to establish the ordinary residence of the adult the carer is supporting.

Where a carer provides care for more than one person in different local authority areas, the authorities should consider how best to cooperate and share the provision of support. For example, where services or interventions directly relate to the caring responsibilities for one individual (for example, equipment installed in the carer’s home for use by one adult), then it is straightforward to identify which local authority is responsible. However, where the same piece of equipment is used by the carer with more than one adult, then the local authorities concerned should agree how to arrange the package. There might be an agreement to jointly fund the support for the carer, or the authorities may agree that one takes overall responsibility for certain aspects. For example, one authority might lead on reviews because it is geographically closer to the carer’s home.

4. How to Determine Ordinary Residence

The local authority’s responsibility for meeting a person’s eligible needs is based on the concept of ordinary residence. There is, however, no definition of ordinary residence in the Care Act, so the term should be given its ordinary and natural meaning.

In most cases, establishing the person’s ordinary residence is a straightforward matter. However, there will be circumstances in which ordinary residence is not clear cut, for example when people spend their time in more than one area or move between areas.

Factors such as time, intention and continuity (each of which may be given different weight in individual cases) should be considered. The courts have considered the meaning of ordinary residence, and the leading case is that of Shah v London Borough of Barnet (1983) 2 AC 309. In the Shah case, Lord Scarman stated that:

unless … it can be shown that the statutory framework or the legal context in which the words are used requires a different meaning I unhesitatingly subscribe to the view that ordinarily resident refers to a man’s abode in a particular place or country which he has adopted voluntarily and for settled purposes as part of the regular order of his life for the time being, whether of short or long duration.

Local authorities must have regard to this case when determining the ordinary residence of adults who have the mental capacity to make decisions about where they wish to live, and should apply the principle that ordinary residence is the place the person has voluntarily adopted for a settled purpose, whether that be for a short or long duration.

Ordinary residence can be acquired as soon as the person moves to an area, if their move is voluntary and for settled purposes, irrespective of whether they own, or have an interest in a property in another local authority area.

There is no minimum period in which a person must be living in a particular place for them to be considered ordinarily resident there, it is the nature and quality of their connection with the new place which is important. Ordinary residence can be acquired as soon as a person moves into an area.

In certain situations, a person’s ordinary residence can be in a different area to that in which they are  physically present (see Section 6, Looked after Children Transitioning to Adult Social Care Services, Section 7, Persons with no Settled Residence and Section 8, Ordinary Residence when Arranging Care and Support in another Area).

Temporary absences – such as holidays, hospital visits, and term times at university do not break the continuity of ordinary residence. People may have more than one home, they may own or have an interest in another property in another area. See Section 11.1, Temporary absences and Section 11.2, People with more than one home.

5. Where a Person Lacks Mental Capacity to Decide where to Live

See also Mental Capacity and Code of Practice chapter

All issues relating to mental capacity should be decided with reference to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Under the Act, it must always be assumed that adults have capacity to make their own decisions, including decisions relating to their accommodation and care, unless it is established to the contrary.

The test for mental capacity is specific to each decision at the time it needs to be made, and a person may have mental capacity to make some decisions but not others.  It is not necessary for a person to understand local authority funding arrangements for them to have capacity to decide where they want to live.

If it can be shown that a person lacks mental capacity to make a particular decision, the MCA makes clear how decisions should be made for that them. For example, if a person lacks mental capacity to decide where to live, a best interests decision about their accommodation should be made. Any actions or decision made for a person who lacks mental capacity (including decisions relating to where they live), must be taken or made in their best interests.

Where an adult lacks mental capacity to decide where to live, and their place of ordinary residence needs to be determined, the test in the Shah case (see Section 4) is not directly applicable, as it requires the voluntary adoption of a place.

However, in the Cornwall case (R (on the application of Cornwall Council) v Secretary of State [2015] UKSC 46) the Supreme Court made it clear that to establish the ordinary residence of adults who lack mental capacity, local authorities should adopt the Shah approach and have no regard for the fact that the adult, by reason of their lack of capacity, does not live there voluntarily.

In such cases, the local authority should consider the following when establishing whether the purpose of the residence has a sufficient degree of continuity to be described as settled, whether for a long or short duration:

• the place of the person’s physical presence;
• their purpose for living there;
• the person’s connection with the area;
• their duration of residence there;
• the person’s views, wishes and feelings (as far as these are ascertainable and relevant).

6. Looked after Children Transitioning to Adult Social Care Services

In the Cornwall judgement, the Supreme Court held that a looked after child who had been placed by local authority B with foster carers who live in local authority A, continued to be ordinarily resident in local authority B when they reached 18 years for the purposes of deeming provisions in the 1948 National Assistance Act (NA Act). This legislation predated the Care Act statutory framework around ordinary residence; the provisions are set out in sections 21; 24;29; 32(3)-(5) of NA Act and supporting directions LAC (93) 10 Approvals and Directions for Arrangements Ordinary Residence Disputes NA Act1948 Directions 1948. The Supreme Court set out that the underlying purpose behind deeming provisions in both children’s and adult legislation is that: ‘an authority should not be able to export its responsibility for providing the necessary accommodation by exporting the person who is in need of it.’

This means that any person who moves from accommodation provided under the Children Act 1989 to accommodation provided under the NA Act or the Care Act, remains ordinarily resident in the local authority in which they were ordinarily resident under the Children Act. This includes a situation where a child has been placed out of area under the Children Act as a looked after child, and at the age of 18 requires residential accommodation under the NA Act or the Care Act as well as support as a care leaver under the Children Act.

The types of accommodation to which these adult deeming provisions apply is:

• ‘specified accommodation’ (under the Care Act) in circumstances where the adult’s needs can be met only if they are living in accommodation of a specified type. The types currently specified are: care homes, shared lives scheme accommodation and supported living accommodation;
• NHS accommodation (under the Care Act);
• residential accommodation (under the NA Act);
• NHS accommodation (under the NA Act).

6.1 Accommodation to which deeming provisions do not apply.

In cases where the deeming provisions do not apply, although the provisions of the Children Act normally no longer apply once a young person reaches the age of 18, local authorities should start from a presumption that for the purposes of the NA Act or the Care Act, the young person remains ordinarily resident in the local authority in which they were ordinarily resident under the Children Act.

However, this is only a starting point, and if the young person moves to other than specified accommodation and has mental capacity to decide where to live, then the Shah test can be applied to determine ordinary residence.

7. Persons of No Settled Residence

Where there are questions in relation to a person’s ordinary residence, it is usually possible for the local authority to decide that the person has resided in the area long enough or has sufficiently firm intentions in relation to that place, to have acquired an ordinary residence there. Therefore, it should only be in rare circumstances that the local authority concludes that someone is of no settled residence. For example, if a person has clearly and intentionally left their previous residence and moved to stay elsewhere on a temporary basis during which time their circumstances change, the local authority may conclude the person to be of no settled residence.

The Care Act makes clear that local authorities have a duty to meet the eligible needs of people who are present in its area but of no settled residence.  This means, people who have no settled residence, but are physically present in the local authority area, should be treated in the same way as those who are ordinarily resident.

The local authority may conclude that a person arriving from abroad is of no settled residence, including those people who are returning to England after a period of residing abroad and who have given up their previous home in this country. See also Annex H: Ordinary Residence, British citizens resuming permanent residence in England after a period abroad.

8. Ordinary Residence when Arranging Care and Support in another Area

There may be some cases where the local authority considers that the person’s care and support needs can only be met if they are living in a specified type of accommodation. This could be in a care home, or other kinds of provision. If the specified accommodation in which the care is provided is located in the area of another authority, it is important that there is no question as to which local authority is responsible for meeting the person’s needs.

The Care Act and the Care and Support (Ordinary Residence) (Specified Accommodation) Regulations set out what should happen in these cases; a  person placed ‘out of area’ is deemed to continue to be ordinarily resident in the area of the first authority, and does not acquire ordinary residence in the ‘host’ or second authority. The local authority which arranges the care in the specified accommodation retains responsibility for meeting the person’s needs.

The regulations specify three types of specified accommodation to which this provision applies:

1) nursing homes / care homes: accommodation which includes either nursing care or personal care

2) supported living / extra care housing this is either:

• specialist or adapted accommodation: this means accommodation which includes features that have been built in or changed to in order to meet the needs of adults with care and support needs. This may include safety systems and features which enable accessibility and navigation around the accommodation and minimise the risk of harm, as appropriate to the individual;
• accommodation which is intended for occupation by adults with care and support needs, in which personal care is also available, usually from a different provider.

3) shared lives schemes: accommodation which is provided together with care and support for an adult by a shared lives carer, approved by the scheme, in the shared lives carer’s home under the terms of an agreement between the adult, the carer and any local authority responsible for making the arrangement. The shared lives carer will normally be providing personal care, but they will not need to provide it in every case.

Where an adult’s care and support needs can only be met by living in one of these specified types of accommodation, and the accommodation arranged is in another local authority area, then the principle of ‘deeming’ ordinary residence applies. This means that the adult is treated as remaining ordinarily resident in the area where they were resident immediately before the local authority began to provide or arrange care and support in any type of specified accommodation.

8.1 Deeming provisions for specified accommodation post Care Act 2014

Section 39 (1) Where an adult has needs for care and support which can be met only if the adult is living in accommodation of a type specified in regulations, and the adult is living in accommodation in England of a type so specified, the adult is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as ordinarily resident:

1. in the area in which they were ordinarily resident immediately before they began to live in accommodation of a type specified in the regulations, or
2. if they were of no settled residence immediately before they began to live in accommodation of a type so specified, in the area in which they were present at that time.

This means that that the local authority initially providing that care and support will remain responsible for meeting the person’s eligible needs, and responsibility does not transfer to the authority in whose area the accommodation is physically located. However, in circumstances where a person with mental capacity moves to accommodation in a different area of their own choice without the local authority making the arrangements, they would be likely to acquire ordinary residence in the area of the authority where the new accommodation is situated.

The deeming rule does not apply where a person has chosen to arrange their own care in a type of specified accommodation in another area, and then later asks for local authority support.

Decisions about whether needs are ‘able to be met’ or of a kind that ‘can be met only’ through a specified type of accommodation should be made with the adult as part of the assessment and care and support planning processes. Where the outcome of the care planning process is that the adult’s needs should be met in one of the specified types of accommodation, this should be clearly recorded in the care and support plan. The local authority is not required to demonstrate that needs cannot be met by any other type of support. The local authority must have assessed those needs in order to make such a decision – the ‘deeming’ principle therefore does not apply to cases where a person arranges their own accommodation, and the local authority does not meet their needs.

The first local authority’s responsibility will continue in this way for as long as the person’s eligible needs are being met by the specified type of accommodation. This will include situations where the person moves between care and support provided in different specified types of accommodation in another (or more than one other) area. As an example, if the first authority arranges care and support in one type of accommodation in the area of the second authority (for example in a shared lives scheme or a care home) and the person’s needs change, leading to them moving into another type of accommodation in the second authority’s area (for example a supported living scheme), the person would continue to be ordinarily resident in the area of the first authority, and that authority would remain responsible for the care and support. However, should the person no longer require the care and support to be provided in a specified type of accommodation, then it is likely that their ordinary residence will change, and the first local authority will no longer retain responsibility.

As part of the care and support planning process, where the local authority is arranging a person’s accommodation, they have a right to make a choice about their preferred accommodation (see Charging and Financial Assessment chapter and Annex A: Choice of Accommodation and Additional Payments). This right allows the adult to make a choice about a particular individual provider, including where that provider is located. Provided that certain conditions are met, the local authority must arrange for the preferred accommodation.

The ordinary residence rules described above will apply when the adult’s preferred accommodation is in the area of another local authority. The ordinary residence ‘deeming’ principle applies most commonly where the local authority provides or arranges care and support in the accommodation directly.

8.2 Direct payments

The principle also applies where the adult takes a direct payment and arranges their own care (since the local authority is still meeting their needs).

In such cases, the adult has choice over how their needs are met and arranges their own care and support. If the care and support plan stipulates that the adult’s needs can only be met if they are living in one of the specified types of accommodation and the adult chooses to arrange that accommodation in the area of a local authority which is not the one making the direct payments then the same principle applies; the local authority which is meeting the person’s care and support needs by making direct payments retains responsibility.

However, if the person chooses accommodation that is outside what was specified in the care and support plan or of a type of accommodation not specified in the regulations, then the ‘deeming’ principle does not apply.

If a local authority arranges care and support in a type of accommodation in another area or becomes aware that an adult receiving a direct payment has done so themselves, the authority should inform the host authority, to ensure the host authority is aware that the adult is living in their area. The first authority should ensure that satisfactory arrangements are made before the accommodation begins for any necessary support services which are provided locally, such as day care, and that clear agreements are in place for funding all aspects of the person’s care and support.

In practice, the first local authority may enter into agreements to allow the authority where the accommodation is located to carry out functions on its behalf. This may particularly be the case where the accommodation is located some distance away, and some functions can be performed more effectively locally. For example, a carer may live in a different authority from the person they are caring for. Local authorities may make arrangements to reimburse to each other for any costs which occurred through such agreements.

There may be occasions where a provider chooses to change the type of care which it provides, for instance to de-register a property as a care home and to redesign the service as a supported living scheme. Where the adult remains living at the same property, and their needs continue to be met by the new service, then ordinary residence should not be affected, and the duty to meet needs will remain with the first authority. This will occur even if the person temporarily moves to another address whilst any changes to the property occur.

9. NHS Accommodation

When an adult goes into hospital, or other NHS accommodation, there may be questions over where they are ordinarily resident, especially if they are subsequently discharged into a different local authority area. For this reason, the Care Act makes clear what should happen in these circumstances.

Section 39(5) applies to NHS accommodation. It ensures that an NHS stay i.e. accommodation (as defined in s 39(6)) in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland will not affect a person’s ordinary residence. This means that their care and support must continue to be provided by the local authority in whose area they were ordinarily resident before their admission to NHS accommodation.

An adult for whom NHS accommodation is provided is to be treated as being ordinarily resident in the local authority where they were ordinarily resident before the NHS accommodation was provided. This means that where an adult, for example, goes into hospital, they are treated as ordinarily resident in the area where they were living before, they went into hospital. This applies regardless of the length of stay in the hospital and means that responsibility for the adult’s care and support does not transfer to the area of the hospital, if this is different from the area in which the person was previously ordinarily resident.

Where a person who is ordinarily resident in England goes into hospital in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, their ordinary residence will remain in England (in the local authority in which they ordinarily resided before going into hospital) for the purposes of responsibility for the adult’s care and support.

10. Mental Health Aftercare

See Section 117 Aftercare chapter

Under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA), local authorities together with integrated care boards have a joint duty to arrange the provision of mental health aftercare services for people who have been detained in hospital for treatment under certain sections of the MHA. Aftercare services must have both the purposes of ‘meeting a need arising from or related to the person’s mental disorder’ and ‘reducing the risk of a deterioration of the person’s mental condition and, accordingly, reducing the risk of the person requiring admission to a hospital again for treatment for mental disorder.’

In brief, aftercare services have a dual purpose, firstly to meet a need arising from or related to the person’s mental disorder; and secondly to reduce the risk of the person’s mental condition deteriorating. In so doing, this reduces the risk of the person being readmitted to a hospital for further treatment of a mental disorder.

The range of services which can be provided is broad. Under section 117, the duty on local authorities to commission or provide mental health aftercare rests with the local authority for the area in which the person concerned was ordinarily resident immediately before they were detained under the MHA, even if the person becomes ordinarily resident in another area after leaving hospital.

Section 75 of the Care Act 2014 amends section 117 of the MHA to provide that the local authority responsible for providing or commissioning aftercare services is the local authority in which the person was ordinarily resident immediately before they were detained.

Section 39(4) of the Care Act provides that an adult who is being provided with accommodation under section 117 of the MHA will be treated for the purposes of Part 1 of the Care Act 2014 as ordinarily resident in the area of the local authority in England or Wales which is under a duty to provide the adult with services under section 117 MHA.

By section 117A, the Secretary of State is empowered to make rby a person for particular accommodation, with the person paying a top-up fee if the preferred accommodation is more than the authority’s usual cost. In discharging the s 117 duty, the local authority is permitted to provide the person with direct payments.

However, if the person is subsequently re-detained for treatment under the MHA, responsibility for the new aftercare services under section 117 will lie with the local authority in whose area the adult was ordinarily resident immediately before their most recent detention.

11. Other Common Situations

11.1 Temporary absences

If ordinary residence is established in a particular place, this should not be affected by the adult taking a temporary absence from the area. The courts have held that temporary or accidental absences, including for example holidays or hospital visits in another area, do not break the continuity of ordinary residence, and local authorities should take this into account.

The fact that the adult may be temporarily away from the local authority in which they are ordinarily resident, does not preclude them from receiving any type of care and support from another local authority if they become in urgent need (see Annex H: Ordinary Residence, Persons in Urgent Need). Local authorities have powers to meet the needs of people who are known to be ordinarily resident in another area, at their discretion, and subject to them informing the authority where the person is ordinarily resident.

Urgent needs are covered under Sections 19(3) and (4) of the Care Act which provide that a local authority may meet an adult’s needs for care and support which appear to be urgent (regardless of whether the adult is ordinarily resident in its area). A local authority may meet an adult’s needs under subsection (3) where, for example, the adult is terminally ill.

11.2 People with more than one home

Although in general terms it may be possible for a person to have more than one ordinary residence (for example, a person who divides their time equally between two homes), this is not possible for the purposes of the Care Act. The purpose of the ordinary residence test in the Care Act is to determine which single local authority has responsibility for meeting the adult’s eligible needs, and this purpose would be defeated if a person could have more than one ordinary residence.

If a person appears genuinely to divide their time equally between two homes, it is necessary to establish (from all the information available) to which of the two homes the person has the stronger link. Once this has been established, it is the responsibility of the local authority in whose area the person is ordinarily resident, to provide or arrange care and support to meet their needs during the times when they are temporarily away at their second home.

Further examples are set out in Annex H: Ordinary Residence, and used for references when there is  uncertainty around an adult’s ordinary residence.

11.3 People who arrange and fund their own care.

People who self-fund and arrange their own care (self-funders) may choose to move to another area and then find that their funds have depleted. Self-funders can apply to the local authority area that they have moved to in order to have their needs assessed. If it is decided that they have eligible needs for care and support, the person’s ordinary residence will be in the place where they moved to and not the first authority (see Annex H Ordinary Residence, People who have Sufficient Funds to pay for their own Care and Accommodation).

The rule of thumb supported by the Care and Support Statutory Guidance is that self-funders who arrange their own care and who choose to move to another area for that care but find their funds depleted, are likely to take the ordinary residence in the new area which they voluntarily choose to move.

11.3.1 Self-funders and local authority arrangements

A person who seeks the help of the local authority under section 18(3) of the Care Act i.e. a person who has sufficient financial means to pay for their own care, but who has eligible needs, can ask the local authority to meet their needs (for example, where they lack the skill or confidence to arrange their own care). In such cases, where a person who pays for their own accommodation but the local authority has arranged it and provided a care and support plan, then the deeming provisions will apply. That person will keep the ordinary residence of the arranging local authority (see Annex H Ordinary Residence, People who have Sufficient Funds to pay for their own Care and Accommodation).

12. Resolving Ordinary Residence Disputes

In most cases, determining ordinary residence should be straightforward. However, there will be occasions where it is more complicated to establish the adult’s ordinary residence.

Please note: Where the local authorities concerned agree about a person’s ordinary residence, but the adult is unhappy with the decision, they would have to pursue this with the authorities concerned and cannot apply to the Secretary of State or an appointed person for a determination.

Where two or more local authorities are in dispute about an adult’s ordinary residence, they can apply for a determination to the Secretary of State or appointed person.

The Care and Support (Disputes Between Local Authorities) Regulations 2014 set out the procedures to be followed when disputes arise between local authorities regarding a person’s ordinary residence. When a dispute between two or more local authorities occurs, local authorities must take all reasonable steps to resolve the dispute between themselves.

It is critical that the adult does not go without the care they need, during any dispute.

The local authority that is meeting the needs of the adult or the carer on the date that the dispute arises, must continue to do so until the dispute is resolved.

If no local authority is currently meeting the person’s needs, then the local authority where the person is living or is physically present must accept responsibility until the dispute is resolved.

The local authority which has accepted provisional responsibility is referred to as the ‘the lead authority’.

The lead authority must identify all the authorities involved in the dispute and co-ordinate an ongoing discussion between all parties involved. The parties involved must provide the lead authority with contact details of a named person to contact regarding the dispute. The lead authority must be responsible for the co-ordination of any information that may be relevant to the dispute and keep all parties informed of any developments. The lead authority must also keep the adult, or their carer if appropriate, fully informed of dispute and progress regarding any resolution.

Applications for determinations by the Secretary of State or appointed person must be submitted by the lead authority before or by the end of a period of four months from the date when the dispute arose. The provisional acceptance of responsibility by the lead authority will not influence any determination made by the Secretary of State.

12.1 Process for seeking a determination

The regulations place a duty on the parties involved in the dispute to provide specified information to the Secretary of State or appointed person. The lead local authority must make a request in writing to the Secretary of State or appointed person, together with a statement of facts and other documentation. All previous correspondence between the local authorities must also be sent in when seeking a determination. The statement of facts must include certain specified information as set out in the regulations. Local authorities should, wherever possible, produce a statement of facts; that is jointly agreed. If the parties cannot agree on some of the information, the statement should make clear what information the parties agree on and what is in dispute. Local authorities should ensure that all documents sent to the Secretary of State or appointed person are in the required format.

Once the Secretary of State – or appointed person – is satisfied that the parties have had adequate opportunity to make representations, will make a determination. Any local authority failing to have due regard to a determination by the Secretary of State or appointed person, would be at risk of a legal challenge by the adult or their representative or the other local authorities to the dispute.

Local authorities should seek legal advice before making an application for a determination, although they are not required to do so. If legal advice is sought, local authorities may, in addition to the required documentation, provide a separate legal submission. Where legal submissions are included, these should be exchanged between the local authorities in dispute and evidence of this should be supplied to the Secretary of State.

If the local authorities involved in the dispute reach an agreement whilst the Secretary of State is considering the determination, they should notify the Department of Health and Social Care. Both parties must confirm that the dispute has been resolved after which the determination will be closed.

If a determination by the Secretary of State or an appointed person subsequently finds another local authority to be the authority responsible for funding of that person under the regulations and rules of ordinary residence the lead local authority may recover costs from the authority which should have been providing the relevant care and support.

The Department of Health and Social Care makes available anonymised copies of determinations it has made. Each case must be considered on its  own particular facts, but past determinations may provide local authorities with useful guidance when faced with similar circumstances.

12.2 Reconsidering a determination

If further facts come to light after a determination has been made, local authorities may consider it appropriate for the Secretary of State or appointed person to reconsider the original determination. As a consequence of this, a different determination may be substituted on account of any redetermination. This may mean that payments made from one local authority to another, as a consequence of the first determination will need to be repaid.

Any review of the determination must begin within three months of the date of the original determination. This is needed to ensure clarity and fairness in the process and minimise the amount of time taken for determinations to be made.

13. Financial Adjustments between Local Authorities

Sometimes a local authority will have been paying for a person’s care and support, but it later becomes apparent (for example as a result of an ordinary residence determination) that the person is in fact ordinarily resident elsewhere. In these circumstances, the local authority that has been paying for that person’s care may reclaim the costs from the local authority where the person was deemed to be ordinarily resident.

This can occur in cases where it is not clear initially where the person is ordinarily resident. To ensure that the adult does not experience any delay to their care due to uncertainty over their ordinary residence, local authorities should be able to recover any losses due to initial errors or delays in deciding where a person is ordinarily resident. This also extends to costs spent supporting the carer of the person whose ordinary residence was in dispute. It should be noted that only the costs of care can be recovered, not the local authority’s legal or social work costs.