Proposed Changes to Wandsworth Council's Adult Social Care Charging Policy

Overview

Why are we proposing changes to the Charging Policy?

All people in receipt of social care and support are financially assessed to determine the contribution they can reasonably afford to pay towards the cost of their care and support. National legislation, including the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support Statutory Guidance, provide the framework within which local authorities can decide their policies. Recently there have been changes which impact this, including policies from central government as well as changes in the marketplace.

The United Kingdom has an ageing population and an increasing number of people requiring support from local Councils. This has made it a challenge when trying to support larger numbers of people with the same resources. Services are under growing pressure, and we need to be sure we can continue to provide high quality support on a sustainable basis. We therefore want to make sure we are providing fair, simple and clear policies to help people understand how much they need to contribute towards their care and support services and make it simpler for staff to apply.
 

Proposed changes

The document here and attached at the bottom of this page explains our proposed changes to the current Adult Social Care Charging Policy. The document demonstrates the impact of each change on the service user and provides details of national policy.

It sets out our proposals for:

• Aligning the amount when someone pays the full cost of their care and support (known as the Upper Capital Limit) for non-residential and residential services
• Introducing a standard disregard amount in a financial assessment for people with a registered disability to support themselves, known as Disability Related Expenditure
• Standardising and simplifying the administration fee and interest payment for a Deferred Payment Arrangement
• Changing the way respite care services are charged, bringing this in line with non-residential care charges

An explanation of for the key terms can be found in the relevant sections of this document.

What are we hoping to achieve?

By updating our Charging Policy, we are aiming to achieve the following:

• Everyone will receive a financial assessment to calculate how much they can afford to contribute to their care whilst maintaining a fair quality of life
• Everyone will receive the level of support they require, regardless of how much they can contribute to the cost. Nobody will be asked to pay more than they can afford
• People will receive all benefits and disregards to which they are entitled
• We will provide a clear and robust framework for charging for Adult Social Care that keeps service users and carers well informed
• We will ensure that changes are made in a manner that is fair and sustainable, and prioritise support for those most in need

Have your say

We are keen to hear the views of everyone who would like to comment on these proposals, but particularly people who use Adult Social Services and their carers.

Please read the consultation document at the bottom of this page and give us your views using the online survey below. If you need a paper copy of the document or the survey please email financeAT@wandsworth.gov.uk

If you have any questions, would like more information or require this document in a different format, please contact us by email at financeAT@wandsworth.gov.uk or by post at: Financial Assessment Team, PO BOX 65985, London, SW18 9JS.