There has been a "strong desire" among respondents to the draft Care and Support Bill to emphasise the need for advice on long-term care.
The Department of Health (DoH) published a summary of the responses to the draft Care and Support Bill consultation on its website today.
It summarised one of the findings: "There was a strong desire to expand the duty to provide information and advice to include more detailed requirements to help the person understand and make use of information, and to support the role of advocacy."
Respondents also raised concerns about pressure on local authority budget and its impact on care and support, with disappointment about the absence of clauses to implement Dilnot Commission recommendations.
Respondents were supportive of the consolidation, clarification and modernisation of existing law and the increased emphasis on outcomes.
And there was support for the principle of a national threshold for eligible needs but demand for more detail about where it would be set and how it would work.
The DoH reported there was "an eagerness" to see the regulations and guidance that will provide further detail on the provisions in the draft bill.
The draft features health measures including the law needed to establish Health Education England (HEE) and the Health Research Authority (HRA) as non-departmental public bodies.
Respondents "broadly welcomed" the proposals to establish HEE and HRA as non-departmental public bodies and local education and training board (LETB) governing bodies as committees of HEE.
They were keen to understand more about the HEE structure and welcomed clarification of the HRA's role in promoting standardised practice in the regulation of health and social care.
Public consultation on the draft bill ran from 11 July to 19 October 2012. More than 1,000 comments were received, with 430 respondents submitting written comments through email, post and the draft Care and Support Bill website.
The draft bill proposes a single, modern law for adult care and support to replace existing "outdated and complex" legislation, the department has stated.
The draft aims to transform the social care system focusing on prevention and the needs and goals of people requiring care.
The summary document published does not set out the government's view or response to the comments made.
The comments will be used by the DoH to assist and challenge the government in considering how to improve the proposals in the draft bill.
