Agenda item

The Acting Director of Adult Social Services introduced a report which recommended a revised Adult Social Care Contributions Policy and charges to self-funders who asked the Council to arrange their non-residential care.  The report followed on from the Cabinet decisions in March 2015 and reflected the requirements of the Care Act 2014.

The Care Act gave local authorities the power to charge self-funders who asked the Council to arrange their non-residential care.  It was noted that a majority of people with the means to pay for their own care made their arrangements privately but the Council currently arranged the care for 40 people who has been assessed as able to pay the full cost of their care and a further 30 who paid as they had chosen not to disclose the details of their financial circumstances.  It was confirmed to Commissioners that the Council could only charge for the cost of setting up and managing care and this had been calculated to be £150.  The Cabinet considered the three options which were to continue not to charge; introduce tiered charges with a higher rate in the first year; and a flat-rate annual fee based on recovering the Council’s costs of the providing the service.  The Cabinet considered the affordability of the charges, the calculation for the recommended level of the charge and the duties on the local authority under the Care Act if a private care provider became insolvent.  It was agreed to approve the recommendation that a flat-rate charge of £150 per annum be introduced from April 2016 which would apply to new cases only.

The revised Adult Social Care Contributions Policy, attached at Appendix A to the report, was considered.  It had been updated to reflect fully the new legal framework established by the Care Act and incorporate the decisions made by Cabinet in March 2015.  There were no further substantive changes to existing policy but the revised version took account of clearer wording in statutory guidance and good practice.  After due consideration, it was agreed to adopt the revised policy.

Resolved –

(a)  That Slough introduces a flat-rate fee charge of £150 per year to self-funders for arranging non-residential care from April 2016.

(b)  That Slough adopts the revised Adult Social Care Contributions Policy (Appendix A to the report).