Adult Care & Support APRIL Charging Policy for Non Residential Services

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1 Adult Care & Support APRIL 2015 Charging Policy for Non Residential Services

2 RMBC Adult Care Charging Policy Background and Context... 2 Scope... 2 Overview of Charging Process... 3 Assessment Process... 4 Financial Assessment... 4 Capital... 4 Income... 4 Expenditure... 5 The Calculation... 5 Maximum Charging... 6 Applying the Charges... 6 Payment and Debt Recovery... 6 Paying for a Cash Personal Budget... 6 Complaints and Appeals Process... 6 Appendix A. 7 Court of Protection Fees... 7 Careline Fees... 7 Appointeeship Fees...7 Shared Lives Scheme.8 Caring for pets

3 Purpose of Document This policy sets out how we ask service users who are eligible for non-residential adult care services to contribute towards the cost of those services. The Council has a separate policy on how it requires people to contribute towards the cost of residential care services as this is governed by national legislation. Background and Context Service users have always had to pay for or contribute towards the cost of social care, unlike with health care. Councils have used these charges to reinvest in social care services and Adult Care spends almost 29 million each year on non-residential services and recovers approximately 8% of these costs in charges from service users. The Adult Care and Support Services Blueprint states: As an authority and a service, we will have to justify everything we commission and provide, and need to demonstrate that these are being commissioned in the most cost-effective way. In addition we also need to ensure that the right levels of subsidy and contributions are in place to ensure that our investment into the priority services can be made. Correct Subsidies + Correct Contributions = Maximum Outcomes & Value for Money Having a robust charging policy, based on national guidance and underpinned by the core principles of fairness, equitability and ability to pay clearly fits with this context. Scope This policy covers charging for all adult social care charges except long-term residential and nursing fees. The policy covers charges for short-term respite services. All service users are liable to charging, which may be at a reduced rate following financial assessment (other than those covered by Section 117 of the Mental Health Act who are exempt from charges). There are no charges for reablement and rehabilitation services, community equipment, care assessments and carers services which are all provided free of charge. With a few exceptions, non residential services are provided via a Personal Budget. Services provided outside of a personal budget and their charges are detailed in Appendix A. 2

4 Overview of Charging Process The overall charging process contains several sub-processes, from care assessment through to debt management. Not all of these steps are within the ambit of this policy, however it is important to demonstrate and understand how they are related. 3

5 Assessment Process Financial Assessment The Council s Revenues and Benefits Service will carry out a financial assessment when a care assessment has identified that person s need for a service within the scope of this policy. Financial reassessments are completed annually to take account of periodic or inflation-linked increases in benefits and other sources of income. Service Users benefiting from an adult care contribution to the cost of their care must inform Revenues & Benefits of any change in their financial circumstances as soon as possible so that a financial re-assessment can ensure they are contributing the correct amount, whether they currently make a contribution or not. Any resultant changes in charges will be applicable from the date of the change in circumstances. The financial assessment is carried out to identify the service user s financial circumstances and is carried out in the service user s home wherever possible. A full benefits check is also offered. Any disability related expenditure is identified as part of this assessment. The service user must demonstrate their eligibility for financial support in order for Adult Care to contribute to care charges. Full charges will be levied unless the service user fully complies with the financial assessment process, including providing relevant information within four weeks of request. In exceptional circumstances, and where notified to and agreed with Revenues & Benefits, this can be extended. Any queries about the financial assessment should be directed to the Assessments and Benefits Team on Capital (these rates are subject to change from April 14 Capital will be assessed in accordance with the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidelines (CRAG) and will be subject to annual changes in limits as advised by the Department of Health. The applicable capital thresholds currently are 14,250 lower and 23,250 upper. As with CRAG, where a service user transfers capital or property to a third party or otherwise disposes of an asset to avoid or reduce the payment of charges, we will assess the service user as if they still had the asset. Where the customer has 23,250 or less but more than 14,250, a weekly income of 1 for every complete 250 or part of 250 over 14,250 is assumed and considered within the assessment. This is called "tariff income". The main residence occupied by the service user is not to be taken into account when determining service users capital assets. All other capital assets must be disclosed during the financial assessment. Service users with capital above the upper threshold will not be eligible for adult care funded support. Those with capital below this level may pay a reduced, subsidised charge. Income In addition to the assumed tariff income from savings, all sources of personal income are considered in calculating the assessed contribution other than the disregarded income sources specified below: Working tax credits War disablement pension fully disregarded (from 21 July 2014) War widows pension fully disregarded (from 21 July 2014) Pension credit - savings credit element only Disability Living Allowance mobility component* both rates fully disregarded Disability Living Allowance care component* if on higher rate disregard the difference between higher and middle rate (currently 27.20) (unless in receipt of both day & night care) Attendance Allowance if on higher rate disregard the difference between higher and lower rate (currently 27.20) (unless in receipt of both day & night care) Enhanced disability premium of (unless in receipt of both day & night care) *Under the Welfare Reform Act, Personal Independence Payment will be phased in from April 2013 and this will replace DLA. 4

6 Expenditure Individuals who receive a disability care benefit (which includes a Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance) will be entitled to claim Disability Related Expenditure in line with rates published by NAFAO. In order to qualify for Disability Related Expenditure the following two criteria must be met: The person must provide evidence and receipts to support any amounts claimed, this should also be supported within the needs assessment as being necessary. The cost must be reasonable and can be verified (Evidence and receipts will be required, whilst recognising that some expenditure cannot be evidenced with receipts e.g. additional laundry costs and wear and tear on clothing. The DRE claimed will be limited to a maximum of the disability care benefit claimed. Items covered may include: Private domestic help Private care Laundry Wheelchair/ Electric scooter costs Helpline Laundry Special clothing. Special dietary requirements Socialisation costs for support staff Evidence of actual expenditure incurred will be required. Any eligible expenditure accepted as DRE will be disregarded from the date receipts are received. Further expenditure disregards also apply. These are in relation to housing costs and include: Supported Housing Costs Rent Mortgage Payments Council Tax We also disregard 15 per week if a Service User lives with parents or other family members. This is a notional contribution to household expenses. We also currently disregard any charges levied in relation to Independent Living Fund contributions. The Calculation National regulations require that no service user be left with residual weekly income of less than income support + 25% (currently for <60 years and for > 60 years). These rates are and for couples. This is known as protected income. Therefore, for all service users without capital above 23,250 (who would be self-funding): Equals: Maximum Contribution (ability to pay) 5

7 Maximum Charging 100% of the cost of services is chargeable up to a maximum of 300 per week or the assessed maximum contribution, whichever is lower. 300 is used as it is the notional cost of care and support in a residential setting. Applying the Charges For customers accessing their care services through a managed budget where the weekly charge is greater than 3, statements will be issued every four weeks. Where the weekly charge is less than 3, the charge will accrue and a statement will be issued whenever the accrued charge exceeds 12. For customers accessing their care services through a cash budget, the assessed contribution will be deducted from the budget before it is issued to them. From July 2013, where a customer has a mixed personal budget i.e. part cash and part managed, any contribution will be deducted from the cash element prior to the cash being issued to them. Payment and Debt Recovery Once assessed, charges will not fluctuate from charging period to period; they will remain the same for the duration of the personal budget and will only cease when the personal budget ends or the service user is in hospital for two or more weeks. Any person failing to pay or to come to an arrangement about payment will be subject to the Rochdale Council corporate debt recovery process. This could result in enforcement action through the courts. Paying for a Cash Personal Budget All customers follow the same assessment process and are notified in writing of their client contribution. Customers taking a cash budget receive payments directly into their Personal Budget account on a four weekly basis. All payments are net of client contribution and it is the customer s responsibility to ensure that they make their contribution into their Personal Budget Account. Payment of client contribution is monitored through the audit process. Complaints and Appeals Process Any concerns, complaints or comments with the process of the financial assessment and benefit check should be directed in the first instance to the Revenues & Benefits Service: Assessments & Benefits Adult Care Revenues & Benefits PO Box 490 Rochdale OL16 9AJ Under Section 17(3) of the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act (1983) all individuals have the right to ask the Authority for a review of a charge for which they have been assessed if they consider that they cannot pay it. These requests for review should be sent to: Adult Care PO Box 100 Rochdale MBC OL16 9NP 6

8 Appendix A Court of Protection Fees Fees for acting as court appointed deputy are fixed and are set by the Court of Protection. These include: An annual management fee. In the first year this would be 700 (plus VAT) and for the second and subsequent years the charge would be 585 (plus VAT). Where a service user has assets of less than 16,000 the annual management fee would by 3% of service users net assets. The management fees would be payable on the anniversary of the court order. An annual property management fee of 270 (plus VAT) to cover the work involved in preparing a property for sale, instructing agents etc or the ongoing maintenance of a property; and A fee of 195 (plus VAT) for the preparation and lodgement of an annual report or account to the Public Guardian. Careline Fees The Careline Service has two fee levels, depending on the service you choose to receive. The basic Careline Service is a monitoring only service, where when you press the emergency button, if you need help, the operator will contact a friend, relative or whoever you have nominated. Careline Plus works in exactly the same way as Careline but includes a mobile warden as a nominated contact, for those people who don t have family, friends or neighbours who are able to respond all the time. The charges are: Careline Weekly Quarterly 3.38 (excl VAT) (excl VAT) Careline Plus Weekly Quarterly 5.96 (excl VAT) (excl VAT) These costs are excluding VAT, as many customers using the Careline Service are exempt from VAT, but in cases where the exemption doesn t apply, VAT will be charged at the current rate. Charges are levied following a full financial assessment and these are the maximum charges that would apply. Fees are charged quarterly, in advance and can be paid through an invoice or by Standing Order. Appointeeship Fees Service users in residential or nursing care under an Appointeship are subject to an annual flat rate fee of 300 (plus VAT) per annum. For service users living in the community the annual charge is 320 (plus VAT). This charge is taken quarterly in arrears directly from the customers funds. Deferred Payments Deferred payments allow a person with property, but without sufficient income or liquid assets, to fund their chosen residential placement, whilst enabling the person to keep their home on admission to residential 7

9 care. It also helps people who intend to sell their home but may not be able to sell the property quickly enough to meet the full cost of their care. Tiered interest applies from the date of the sale of the property during the lifetime of the service user or from 57 th day following the death of the service user. For the first 6 months Bank of England base rate + 3%; After 6 months Bank of England base rate + 5%; and After 12 months Bank of England base rate + 6%. Charges are added to the accruing debt. From April 2015 all new deferred payment agreements will incur a set-up fee of 500 and compound interest of 2.65% will be added on a daily basis. Shared Lives Scheme Charges for people in Shared Lives Schemes are based on the service users entitlement to Disability Living Allowance care component Charges are 56 per week for those on middle rate DLA care component; and per week, for those on the higher rate. Charges are made to carers directly from service users. Caring for Pets If a service user is admitted to hospital or residential care and does not have a family member, neighbour of friend who can look after any pets they have, RMBC will arrange for these pets to be looked after. Any costs incurred for this will be fully re-charged to the service user. Short term residential care The charges for short term residential care (not assessment care) are age dependent. The following charges apply: + 60 years per week years per week < 25 years per week Community Re-start Service Charge Service charges for utility costs are per week for all service users. 8