Agenda item

Changes to Non-Residential Contribution Policy and Additional Income Generation

Minutes:

Report CS17090

 

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report outlining proposed changes to the contribution policy for non-residential Social Care services.

 

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.  A new contributions policy had been agreed by the Council’s Executive in April 2011 for non-residential social care services which allocated services on the basis of a personal budget and allowed service users to take a direct payment to buy care directly or request the Local Authority manage this on their behalf.  This new contribution policy assumed full cost recovery (subject to a financial assessment) of all services, and included a range of services such as personal care, supported living and day care, including transport.  The introduction of the National Living Wage on 1st April 2016 had increased the cost of domiciliary care packages significantly and as there were further increases proposed for 2017/18, there was a need to review the charging for both the managed service for domiciliary care and direct payment budgets. 

 

The Reablement Service provided intensive short-term support to enable service users to re-learn daily skills and regain their confidence to live independently.  The service was typically offered following a hospital stay or an illness for a period of three to six weeks and was non-chargeable.  There had been a recent increase in last minute appointment cancellations, which had impacted the efficiency of the service and it was proposed to address this by introducing a cancellation fee of £15.19 per hour for appointments not kept or cancelled with at least 24 hours’ notice.

 

Officers were also reviewing options around the future of the Extra Care Housing service which would impact how this service was charged for in future, and any proposed changes would be reported to Members in due course.

 

In considering the proposed cancellation fee for the Reablement Service, a Co-opted Member underlined the need for the cancellation process to be communicated clearly to service users.  The Director: Adult Social Care confirmed that the Local Authority would work with a range of organisations to communicate the cancellation process effectively to service users.  The cancellation fee would be set at the hourly rate of the service and was intended to act as a deterrent to cancelling appointments at the last minute, and not to generate significant income.  The Local Authority would work with service users in setting convenient appointment times, and an appeal process would be established which would include details of the exceptional circumstances in which the cancellation fee would be not be chargeable.

 

The Co-opted Member was pleased to note that an equality impact assessment would assess the impact of these changes on existing service users and that a follow-up assessment would be undertaken during the implementation phase which would include contributions from a range of stakeholders.  Another Co-opted Member noted that carers should be included within all consultations.

 

The Chairman was concerned at a suggestion in the report that future decisions to amend charging rates to reflect the National Minimum Wage be delegated to the Director of Finance and in discussion, Members generally agreed that this should continue to be an area for Member scrutiny and decision.

 

RESOLVED that the Council’s Executive be recommended to:

 

1)  Agree the new charging rates for Domiciliary Care for 2017/18 as set out in Paragraph 3.9 of Report CS17090;

 

2)  Agree the new direct payment charging rates as set out in Paragraph 3.12 of Report CS17090;

 

3)  Agree to charge a cancellation fee in Reablement as set out in Paragraph 3.20 of Report CS17090; and,

 

4)  Note that a blended rate for Extra Care Housing might be introduced, subject to the outcome of tendering which would be reported at a later date. 

Supporting documents: