19.02.03: Charges Safety Net for Council Care
The council's executive member for social services, Councillor Viv Kind, is being asked to back a report next week (Wednesday, February 26) suggesting changes which will remove charges entirely for some, reduce the cost of services for others and provide a ceiling on charges for anyone having to pay more.
Since the first stage of the review was introduced in October, 80 out of 1300 home care customers have already stopped paying any charges for the service because they are living only on Income Support.
In a limited number of cases some customers will pay more as a result of the government's changes but the council has used the review to streamline charges, give all customers a benefit check - to ensure they are maximising their income - and introduce a £5-a-week ceiling in the increase in anyone's total care bill.
The council has already spent £95,000 providing benefit checks and dozens of customers have already benefited from these - increasing their income and the affordability of council services covered by the review such as personal care, home care, day care, equipment, transport, meals and respite care in the home.
The new policy will help people with disabilities in particular with 186 of 210 customers receiving disability allowances and requiring more then ten hours' council support every week already having had a benefit check and benefiting from new rules which allow half of disability allowances to be ignored in the assessment of what they must contribute to the cost of the service.
Key features being proposed for the second stage of the review include: extending the review of those on disability allowances to those receiving less than ten hours' support every week - and disregarding half the allowances in calculations reducing the hourly cost of home care from £13.77 to £11 and simplifying the charging system introducing one standard, £1.40 per session, charge for day care and ensuring customers living in residential homes no longer have to pay setting a maximum weekly rise of £5 per week for anyone whose overall bill for services rises pegging rises in social care charges for discretionary service such as laundry and meals to 1.5 per cent - well below inflation The new system, which only affects home care and day care categories because transport and respite care are already provided free of charge in York, will cost the council around £370,000 in reduced income. Bill Hodson, the council's senior assistant director for community services, said, "The new scheme is intended to ensure a fair system so that those with least income pay no more than they can afford for their social care. "The new scheme ensures that no-one pays more than they can afford by setting a safety net for people's income. This removes the concern that the cumulative effect of different charges could leave some customers facing financial hardship And Councillor Kind said, "We are meeting all the regulations set down by the government and using our discretion to introduce a number of improvements for customers. "Many customers will be paying less as a result of these changes. Customers reliant solely on Income Support will no longer pay anything and there will no longer be any charge for equipment. "We are also unusual in setting a ceiling on the amount anyone will have to pay as an increase on their bills for care. Some customers will pay more but this will be limited to a maximum of £5 a week extra but we will continue to look at waivers on charges for anyone in hardship." Councillor Kind said the new, simpler system had been welcomed in a consultation of customers. She said, "The new charging system will be much simpler for customers to understand and for the council to administer and will be based on what customers can afford." There have been several consultation events with representatives of users and carers and people's comments have been taken into account in setting up the new scheme. END
