Adult Social Services Transport Assistance Consultation

Overview

The Council is proposing to implement a new Adult Social Services Transport Assistance Policy from September 2019. This policy would replace the existing arrangements for the assessment and provision of travel assistance and support in adult social care.

The aim of the policy is to ensure a fair and consistent approach to the provision of transport and travel assistance and meeting the needs of those who need support. Introducing this policy would help us to support people to live and travel as independently and safely as possible. The proposed changes would also ensure the most cost-effective and sustainable travel arrangements available are being made.

The proposed policy would apply to adults aged 18 years and over, who are ordinarily resident in Wandsworth, with assessed eligible care and support needs under the Care Act 2014. The provision of transport to open access day centres in the borough is excluded from this policy.

Why are these changes happening?

The Care Act 2014 presented a shift in focus towards prevention and supporting people to stay as independent as possible. The Act requires the Council to consider people’s own strengths and capabilities and what support might be available from their wider support network or their local community to help meet their needs. Transport is one of the areas where Adult Social Services is seeking to support residents to be as independent as possible.

Like other Councils, we have to find ways of reducing spend on some services while ensuring that we are able to provide much needed care and support to those who need support. Wandsworth is facing growing pressures on local services because of increasing numbers of people requiring adult social care. Our aim is to provide sustainable services for the longer term. We also want to make sure we are providing fair, simple and clear policies, which are consistent and straightforward.  

We have considered a range of options, including keeping things how they are now. However, we have concluded that it is not going to be possible to make sure our assessment process is fair and consistent without a clear policy. We have drawn up the following proposals, which we would like your views on.

Our proposals

Proposal 1: To introduce a Transport Assistance Policy from September 2019, which will replace existing arrangements for the assessment and provision of travel assistance and support

Proposal 2: To adopt a strengths-based approach to assessment, which supports our commitment to support residents to be as independent as possible

Proposal 3: To introduce clear and consistent eligibility criteria for the provision of transport assistance and support

Proposal 4: To include transport costs within a person’s care and support plan and personal budget

Proposal 5: To start implementing the new policy from September 2019

Have your say

We are keen to hear the views of anyone who would like to comment on these proposals, but particularly adults who are currently receiving transport support from the Council or who think they are likely to need assistance with transport in the coming years.

Please read the consultation document and/or the full draft Transport Assistance Policy at the bottom of this page, before giving us your views using the online survey below. The Equality Impact & Needs Assessment (EINA) at the bottom of this page gives more detail about the potential impact of the proposals.

If you would like to see the easy read versions of the consultation information and questionnaire, please also find these at the bottom of this page.

If you would like a paper copy of the documents or questionnaire please contact us at consult@wandsworth.gov.uk

If you have any questions about these proposals or would prefer this document in a different format or language or would like some help with completing the questionnaire, please contact:

Telephone:   020 8891 7151

Email:           acis@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

What will happen next?

At the end of the consultation, all feedback received will be carefully considered to help us formulate our final proposals. A report summarising the findings will be published on the Council’s consultation pages at www.wandsworth.gov.uk/consultation