Agenda item

That the following recommendations be agreed:

1.       The Council will consult, over a seven week period, on these proposals as part of a revised charging policy for adult social care services:

·      The Council exercises the power to charge for residential and nursing care and non-residential services in every case, unless it is prohibited from doing so by law or determines not to do under Council policy.    

·      The Council will charge an administration fee in any case where the person is able to pay the full cost of their care and support for a residential or nursing home placement but nevertheless the person asks the Council to make the arrangements for the placement under the Council’s usual terms and conditions.  

·      The Council will increase the percentage of available income taken in charges for non-residential services by 10% with effect from 1 April 2015.

·      The Council will consult widely on the discretionary elements of the new deferred payment scheme.

2.       That a further report be received by Cabinet at its meeting on 24 February 2015, detailing the response to the consultation and proposed Charging Policy.     

Reasons for Decisions:

The Council has previously consulted on the policy of charging for care and support. The recommendations made in this report do not significantly change charging for the majority of people currently receiving care and support but it is right that we consult people who may be adversely affected by the revised proposals. A clear and transparent policy on charging enables people to make advanced decisions about their care and support arrangements.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Adult Social Care Select Committee]

From 1 April 2015, local authorities must implement part 1 of the Care Act 2014. Fundamental reforms to the way in which people pay for their care will become law from April 2016. The Act provided the opportunity to introduce some relatively minor adjustments to the way that the charging system for care and support operated from April 2015.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said that, under the Care Act, new rules for charging would apply when a local authority arranged care and support to meet a person’s support needs and this report provided an overview of the key changes to the charging arrangements from April 2015 that would require consultation to implement.

These were:

·         The power to make a charge for residential and nursing care

·         The power to make a charge for putting arrangements in place

·         The percentage of available income taken in charges

·         The Universal Deferred Payment Scheme

He also said that, as the consultation period included the Christmas period, he proposed to extend the consultation period from six to seven weeks and amended recommendation (1) to reflect this change. He also confirmed that personalised letters would be sent to all people affected by the changes and that the outcome of the consultation would be reported back to Cabinet on 24 February 2015.

Finally, he referred to the Equalities Impact Assessment, which he said would be updated and included with the follow-up report to Cabinet in February 2015.

RESOLVED:

That the following recommendations be agreed:

1.       The Council will consult, over a seven week period, on these proposals as part of a revised charging policy for adult social care services:

·      The Council exercises the power to charge for residential and nursing care and non-residential services in every case, unless it is prohibited from doing so by law or determines not to do under Council policy.    

·      The Council will charge an administration fee in any case where the person is able to pay the full cost of their care and support for a residential or nursing home placement but nevertheless the person asks the Council to make the arrangements for the placement under the Council’s usual terms and conditions.  

·      The Council will increase the percentage of available income taken in charges for non-residential services by 10% with effect from 1 April 2015.

·      The Council will consult widely on the discretionary elements of the new deferred payment scheme.

2.       That a further report be received by Cabinet at its meeting on 24 February 2015, detailing the response to the consultation and proposed Charging Policy.     

Reasons for Decisions:

The Council has previously consulted on the policy of charging for care and support. The recommendations made in this report do not significantly change charging for the majority of people currently receiving care and support but it is right that we consult people who may be adversely affected by the revised proposals. A clear and transparent policy on charging enables people to make advanced decisions about their care and support arrangements.