Agenda item

Report CS16006

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report considering the impact of the Local Authority’s charging policy and outlining proposed changes to the non-residential charging policy. 

Social Care services were provided to vulnerable adults within the community who met the Local Authority’s eligibility criteria and following an assessment of need.  Traditionally following this assessment, the Local Authority had arranged for services to be provided, such as through a home care service.  In April 2011, the Council’s Executive agreed a new contribution policy for non-residential social care services allowing service users to be allocated a personal budget to buy care directly themselves or ask the Local Authority to manage this on their behalf.  This new contribution policy assumed full cost recovery of all services and included a wide range of services. 

Changes had previously been agreed by the Council’s Executive around charging for day centre places, following the move from existing block contract arrangements to spot purchasing arrangements, and this would allow full cost recovery for the provision of places to be implemented from 1^st April 2016, with all service users being charged at full costs subject to a financial assessment.  It was now proposed to charge for transport services to day centres following the introduction of a card swiping system which would record trips made by individual service users.  It was also proposed that changes be made to key safe arrangements and that a one-off charge of £60 be levied to install a key safe at service users’ homes.  These changes would primarily impact full cost clients, with those in receipt of Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance benefits not being charged. 

It was proposed that engagement be undertaken with service users, their families and key organisation in Bromley on the introduction of a charge for transport services for a period of four weeks from January 2016, during which an equality impact assessment would also be undertaken to assess the impact of any changes to charging on current service users.  A follow-up assessment would be carried out during the implementation phase of any changes to reassess the impact.  This would include contributions from a range of stakeholders to ensure that issues and risks were identified and actions were put in place to minimise the impact. 

The Portfolio Holder for Care Services confirmed that he was minded to engage with service users around the proposed introduction of a £15 charge per return journey for transport services, which was in line with neighbouring local authorities, and that engagement would be undertaken primarily via letter, including an ‘easy read’ version.

Additional information regarding the charges levied by other local authorities for transport services to day centres would be provided to Members following the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

1)  Agree to engage with service users, their families and their carers around a proposed new charge of £15 per return journey for transport services relating to formalising the arrangements for older people’s day care; and,

2)  Agree to delegate the decision to increase charges to the Director of Finance should there be an impact to the charge rates following the introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016.