Issue - meetings

Report ACS11067

The contract with Age UK Bromley for the provision of support planning and brokerage to people who have moderate needs or who are self-funders was due to expire on 31^st March 2012.  During the remaining period of the contract term, Age UK Bromley was proposing to test whether people would be willing to pay for this service in the future. The Portfolio Holder introduced a paper setting out Age UK Bromley’s proposals for introducing charges for the support planning and brokerage service.

Maureen Falloon, Director of AgeUK Bromley and the Assistant Director (Commissioning and Partnerships) attending the meeting to answer the Committee’s questions.

The Assistant Director (Commissioning and Partnerships) highlighted an error in paragraph 3.13 of the report: 238 people had been provided with a support planning intervention against the annual target of 420 people.

The Chairman questioned how the charging policy would work and whether there would be a process for triage.  Maureen Falloon confirmed that clients would receive a free initial consultation lasting up to 30 minutes. The service would be explained and support needs identified.  Mrs Falloon stressed that information, advice and guidance would remain free at the point of contact.

In response to a question about how the service could provide social capital, Mrs Falloon explained that this would be provided through the Time Bank which provided one to one companionship and assistance with activities such as shopping and gardening.

In response to questions surrounding charges for the service, the Assistant Director (Commissioning and Partnerships) stressed that there was no intention to means test the service and the view that had been taken was that the £10 charge was not beyond the means of the people who accessed the service.  Mrs Falloon reported that the fees levied would depend upon the level of support that was agreed at the initial assessment with the client.  Mrs Falloon indicated that the charge for a low level of support would be approximately £75, the charges for a medium level of support would be £150 and the support for a high level of support would be £250.  The charges would be made up from a combination of an hourly rate and a fixed fee.

Mrs Falloon also reported that AgeUK Bromley had merged with AgeUK  Greenwich and this merger could utilise the benefits of economies of scale in the future.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to support the introduction of charges to Age UK Bromley’s Support Planning and Brokerage Service from 1^st January 2012.