Decision details

Cabinet will be asked to consider the outcome of the consultation and decide on the policy to be implemented from 1 October 2011

Further to Minute 123 (15 March 2011), the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Services presented a report on proposed changes to the current charging arrangements for adult social care services following the public consultation exercise and the review of the proposals by the Council’s Health and Adult Services Select Committee.

The Cabinet Member explained that the key aims of the proposals were to:

·  Make sure people on lower incomes have enough money to meet the rising costs of living

·  Give additional protection to people aged 85 and over

·  Increase charges gradually for current service users

·  Raise enough income so that the Council can continue to provide quality services to its vulnerable residents

The Cabinet Member referred to the extensive consultation that had taken place with the public, service users and local agencies and advised that the feedback received had directly resulted in two of the draft proposals being revised, the final recommendations now being as follows:

1.  The Council should provide free services to people who are assessed as needing to make a contribution of less than £5.

2.  The Council should build in an extra £10 protection into the guaranteed maximum income for people aged 85 and over.

3.  The Council will include 100% of Severe Disability Premium/Allowance in the financial assessment in line with national guidance.

4.  The Council will reduce the disability disregard from 75% to 25% for people on lower levels of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) and from 75% to 35% for people on the higher levels of DLA and AA.

5.  The Council will ask for contributions towards the cost of the care package not individual services, as required by Government guidance.

6.  The Council will take 75% of disposable income into consideration when setting the maximum level of contribution.

7.  The Council implements transitional protection of a maximum of £10 in October 2011 until March 2012 and a maximum increase of an additional £20 from April 2012 and an additional £20 from April 2013.

The Lead Member of the Health and Adult Services Select Committee explained that the Select Committee had focused on the three main principles of fairness, sustainability and value for money during the course of its review, and he was pleased that the majority of its proposals had been taken on board.  He added, however, that the Select Committee’s proposals in respect of the level of disability related benefits disregard (recommendation 4) and the implementation dates for transitional protection (recommendation 7) had not been adopted and he asked Cabinet to reconsider these aspects.  Having regard to the proposed implementation of the new arrangements with effect from 1 October 2011 and the need for appropriate publicity and notification to service users prior to this date, the Cabinet asked officers to reassess the impact of the Select Committee’s proposals as a matter of urgency and for the Corporate Director, in consultation with relevant Members, to make the final determination.

Having noted the outcome of the public consultation, the recommendations of the Health and Adult Services Select Committee and the proposed changes to the original proposals, Cabinet agreed:-

  (i)  To authorise the Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Health and Adult Services and Finance, Revenues and Benefits and the Lead Member of the Health and Adult Services Select Committee, to finalise the proposals in respect of the level of disability related benefits disregard (recommendation 4) and the implementation dates for transitional protection (recommendation 7); and

  (ii)  Subject to any necessary changes required as a consequence of (i) above, to approve the ‘Fairer Contributions Policy for Adult Social Care’ as set out at Appendix 6 to the report, to be implemented with effect from 1 October 2011.