New charging arrangements for selected Adult Social Care Services

Closed 29 Sep 2014

Opened 21 Jul 2014

Contact

02476 754004

chargingconsultation@warwickshire.gov.uk

Feedback updated 24 Jan 2018

We asked

Warwickshire County Council consulted on plans to implement new charges for a number of services to bring these in line with the council’s policy to charge for services at full cost.

Residents were encouraged to have their say on the proposed changes which would introduce charges for services previously offered at no cost, increase charges for some residential respite care, and change the way learning disability and day opportunities are charged.

You said

93 responses were received to the consultation questionnaire, which was a response rate of 10% compared to the total number of letters issued. In addition, 19 phone calls and 2 emails were received through a dedicated email address and phone line which were set up in order to respond to individual queries about the impact of the proposals at the level of the individual.
 
A significant number of respondents were of the view that vulnerable people should not be charged for social care services in principle. This view is recognised but needs to be considered in the context that most services to vulnerable customers are already chargeable at full cost and these proposals relate to a small number of services that are not.
 
A significant number of respondents raised the view that people who cannot afford to pay should not have to pay and that any charges should be fair and consistent. This concern would be addressed by the adoption of the same means testing rules for these services as are already in place for other services. In this way those less able to pay would not be asked to pay.

A number of comments were made that any changes should be implemented and managed carefully with changes made over time to reduce the impact. 

We did

Feedback and recommendations were considered by Warwickshire County Council Cabinet on November 13th 2014.

It was resolved that:

1) That the consultation proposals were implemented in line with the proposed timetable, but that specific conditions were adhered to in how the changes were implemented in order to minimise the impact of the changes;
 
2) For customers who already had a financial assessment, and who would not see any changes in their payments, that they were informed that this does not change their payments now and explaining any circumstances in which it might change their payments in the future so that those customers understood the change in policy and that it did not affect them at this time;
 
3) For customers who already had a financial assessment and who would see increases in their payments, that they were informed, giving them at least 4 weeks’ notice of the changes;
 
4) That customers who have not had a financial assessment have one arranged, and that the implementation of any charges for those customers did not begin until 4 weeks after they had been notified of the charge (which may be a later date than the 1st January 2015, depending upon when assessments can be done);
 
5) That charging rates are updated annually to reflect full costs, including price inflation and other changes in costs, and that the actual rates for April 2015 would be adjusted for these factors.

Results updated 24 Jan 2018

A report outlining the feedback and making recommendations was considered by Cabinet on November 13th 2014. 

This report and the minutes from the meeting are available below.

Files:

Overview

Warwickshire County Council is consulting on its plans to implement new charges for a number of services to bring these in line with the council’s policy to charge for services at full cost.

Warwickshire County Council is encouraging residents to have their say on the proposed changes which will; introduce charges for services previously offered at no cost, increase charges for some residential respite care, and change the way learning disability and day opportunities are charged.

The charging structure will only affect those customers with the means to pay for their care.  The changes are necessary to offer a consistent, equitable, and fair charging policy for adult social care services and to modernise charging arrangements to better reflect how customers choose to use council services.

See below for a document with more detail about the consultation including charges and costs and a timetable for this consultation.

Feedback from the consultation will be reported to elected Members and a decision will be taken in November 2014. At least 4 weeks’ notice will be given before any changes resulting from the consultation are made. Therefore the earliest proposed implementation date for the first proposed changes would be 01 January 2015.

 

Areas

  • All Areas

Audiences

  • Anyone from any background
  • Service users (current or previous)
  • Adults
  • Older people

Interests

  • Social care
  • Adults and older people
  • Social care and support