Parliament has approved the Care Act 2014, ushering in significant reforms to adult social work.
As the Act received Royal Assent, Norman Lamb, the Care Minister said it: "represents the most significant reform of care and support in more than 60 years".
The Act introduces numerous changes including putting personal budgets on a legal footing and placing a duty on councils to provide preventive services to support people's health.
The legislation also introduces a national minimum eligibility threshold council-funded social care and a limit on the amount people will have to pay towards their own care costs.
Other measures in the Act include:
•A duty on councils to consider the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of individuals in need of care;
•New powers for the chief inspector of social care to hold poor-performing providers to account;
•A requirement for councils to offer deferred payment schemes so that individuals do not have to sell their homes to pay for residential care in their lifetime;
•New rights for carers including the right to an assessment of their needs and the right to get support if they meet eligibility criteria;
The Department of Health will launch a consultation of the draft regulations and guidance connected to the measures within Act in the near future.
The Law Commission noted that the Act implements over 95% of its 2011 report, Adult Social Care.
Nicholas Paines QC, the Law Commissioner, said: "We are delighted that the Care Act has received Royal Assent. Together with the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, which received Royal Assent on 1 May, this puts in place a coherent framework to govern the provision of adult social care across England and Wales.
"The new Act replaces over 65 years of piecemeal legislation. It places personalisation on a statutory footing for the first time, gives new legal rights to carers and introduces a new legal framework for safeguarding vulnerable adults.
"It will streamline and modernise a system that has its roots in the poor law, clarifying rights and responsibilities for older and disabled people and local councils, and improving the position of carers.
