Background Information:
Local authorities have had the ability to charge for residential care (under section 22 (1) of the National Assistance Act 1948) and for non-residential services (under section 17 of the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983) for a number of years, this is not a statutory requirement, but Kent County Council (KCC) utilised this ability for most non-residential services.
Statutory guidance on charging for residential and non-residential care and support under the Care Act 2014 section 14 is provided in theCare and Support Statutory Guidance. All previous guidance documents, such as theCharging for Residential Accommodation Guideand Fairer Charging Guidance came to an end on 1st April 2015, ceasing these powers and duties.
KCC exercised its power under Section 14 of The Care Act 2014 to continue to charge at the same rates and in the same ways from 1 April 2015 after the Care Act bill was passed.
KCC has been more generous with its charging policy since it began charging in 2002 and has not made any significant changes to its charging policy since 2011. KCC has now had to review the subsidies that it provides to some people to ensure consistency, fairness and the best use of its funds to support all its Adult Social Care clients.
The project has been initiated to look to amend sections of KCC discretionary charging in the Non-Residential Charging Policy to align it with the government’s Department of Health’s (DoH) guidelines.
These changes will look to align KCC with a standard charging model employed by the DoH and several other local authorities.
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Affects more than two Electoral Divisions;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: (All Division);
Notice of proposed decision first published: 20/01/2020
Decision due: Not before 10th Mar 2020 by Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health
Reason: In order that the proposed decision can be published for a minimum of 28 days, in accordance with statutory requirements
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health
Lead director: Penny Southern
Department: Social Care, Health & Wellbeing
Contact: Rob Underwood (Tel: 03000 410426).
Consultees
Public consultation took place between 25 October 2019 and 8 December 2019: www.kent.gov.uk/adultsocialcarecharging
The proposed was discussed and endorsed at the Adult Social Care Cabinet Committee on 4 March 2020.
Cross party member briefings on the proposed changes have taken place.
Financial implications: The proposed change will generate an income of approximately £500k over two years.
Legal implications: The Adult Social Care and Health (ASCH) Directorate engaged Invicta Law to understand their legal requirements/responsibilities when proposing this change. Advice received was that formal consultation would need to take place before any proposed decision could be taken, as whilst the authority is more generous in their financial assessment this is not something that can be changed without a public consultation.
Equalities implications: An Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) has been completed and is included as part of the consultation documentation.