Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration presented a report on the proposed Adults’ Care and Support Charging Policy, which would ensure that individuals who were receiving community-based services from the Council paid a fair contribution towards the cost of their care.

The Cabinet Member stated that the Council had learnt from mistakes it made around implementation and clarity when the policy was initially introduced in 2011. Thorough public consultation had taken place on the new Policy and improvements in the clarity of the policy itself were welcomed by all attendees at the service user consultation events. Furthermore, there was support for the clearer route proposed for disagreeing with the financial assessment. However, there was also a clear margin of opinion against a number of the proposals put forward, albeit that margin was variable with no proposal receiving universal opposition. The Cabinet Member also confirmed that the changes would raise additional income to support the demand pressures across the service.

The Cabinet Member explained that allowances could be made for the costs incurred by someone as a direct result of their disability. Statutory guidance required the local authority to make an assessment and allow the person to keep enough benefit to pay for necessary disability-related expenditure to meet any needs which were not being met by the local authority. As this was a complex process, it was proposed that a Disability Related Expenditure Policy and a Guidance Note be developed to come into force from April 2020. 

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree the proposed final Adults’ Care and Support Charging Policy at Appendix 2 of the report;

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Director of People and Resilience, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, to further approve any minor alterations to the proposed final Adults’ Care and Support Charging Policy at Appendix 2 of the report; and

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Director of People and Resilience, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, to approve a Disability Related Expenditure Policy and a related Guidance Note for the Council.