Decision details

RESOLVED:

1.            That Cabinet notes the key changes, implications and overarching risks of the government’s Adult Social Care Charging and Fair Cost of Care reforms for Surrey residents and Surrey County Council.

2.            That Cabinet notes the collaborative approach and the emerging plans to prepare, and as far as possible mitigate risks, for implementation from October 2023.

3.            That Cabinet approves up to £2.9m of the Council’s Budget Equalisation Reserve to be used to fund additional expenditure required in 2022/23 to facilitate the implementation of Adult Social Care Charging and Fair Cost of Care reforms above funding provided by government as set out in Annex 2.

Reasons for Decisions:

The Government published its Adult Social Care system reform white paper ‘People at the heart of care’ on 1 December.  The intent of the white paper is to make the system fairer and ensure more people do not face enormous care costs.  In Surrey the reforms will mean the Council will fund care for more people, the availability and therefore the quality of care may be affected, and a significant funding short-fall is anticipated based on current proposed government funding which has been widely commented on as insufficient to meet the full cost of the reforms.  With high levels of self-funding residents and existing staffing challenges in Surrey, the implementation timetable means it will be challenging to recruit, upgrade systems and build capacity to support so many residents.  Current government guidance recommends an awareness campaign from January – March 2023, assessments starting in April 2023 in readiness for implementation from October 2023.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Adults and Health Select Committee)