Decision details

Cabinet received a report which was submitted following the recent consultation on proposals for Adult Social Care charging; a referral from the Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues and a referral from the Corporate Management Team meeting held on 11 November 2015.

          The purpose of the report was to provide information for consideration on a number of proposed changes to the Council’s Adult Social Care Charging Policy; for Cabinet to receive responses and comments from a recent public consultation; to receive responses, comments and recommendations from the Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues and to seek Cabinet’s approval of the recommended changes to the charging policy and for the method of implementation of these changes.

Cabinet considered the report and NOTED:

1.  The proposed changes to the Adult Social Care charging policy and the recommended option, this being option 4.7(a), as set out in the Cabinet report;

2.  The responses and feedback received from the public consultation on the charging proposals;

3.  The comments and recommendations of the Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues on the charging proposals, these being that:

i.       option 4.7(a) in respect of the charging policy proposals was the preferred approach; and

ii.      that income generated from the Adult Social Care Charging Policy should be ring-fenced for re-investment in adult social care services.

And RESOLVED:

4.  To approve the proposed changes to the charging policy, as set out in option 4.7(a) within the report to Cabinet, to take effect from the earliest available opportunity as part of the routine financial assessment.

5.  In approving the policy Cabinet NOTED the recommendation from the Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues ‘that income generated from the Adult Social Care Charging Policy be ring-fenced for re-investment in adult social care services’ and confirmed that this was the case.

The proposed changes to the charging policy and the preferred method of implementation would ensure that the Council’s adult social care charging policy:

·         Met statutory requirements;

·         Maximised income from charges, and in so doing generated additional revenue that would assist the Council in setting a balanced budget, and would help to maintain and extend adult social care services against a background of increasing demand and financial constraints; and

·         Continued to charge people in a fair, consistent and equitable way.

Alternative options considered included:

b)    Agree to the changes but phase these in over a three year period, limiting the increase that would apply to each individual to a third of the total increase figure (i.e. the full impact of the increase would only be felt in the third year – 2017/18)

c)    Agree to implement only some of the proposed changes, and operate a more generous version of the charging policy.

d)    Leave the charging policy unchanged, and continue to operate a more generous version of the charging policy.

Options b), c) and d) had been considered and rejected because they would not have generated the estimated additional income from care charges that the recommended option would. The challenging financial climate and increasing cost pressures that the Council faced made it imperative that all revenue sources were maximised where this could be done fairly and legitimately.

None.

Care and Support Statutory Guidance – issued under the Care Act 2014, Department of Health

Adult Social Care Charging Policy - Equality Impact Assessment