Charges for adult social care services - Consultation

• Read the changes to charges for home care and other non-residential services factsheet

Earlier this year, Kent County Council began a consultation on proposals to introduce some new charges and increase others for non-residential adult social care services.

“Non-residential” means social care services other than those delivered through a residential or nursing care home, or involving any nursing care.

After that consultation finished, members of staff from adult social services looked at all the responses received and produced a report with recommendations.

The following four proposals were put forward for consultation and have been discussed earlier in the week by members of the Cabinet and the Adult Social Services Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

1. Charge people who use mental health services in the same way as all other people who receive services.
2. Include day care and transport as part of the services for which a charge can be made.
3. Increase the amount of available income that is taken into account when working out a person’s charge from 85% to 100%.
4. Reduce the standard amount allowed for the Disability Related Expenditure Assessment (DREA) from £21 to £17 per week for everyone.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Services and Public Health, Graham Gibbens, decided that all four proposals will go ahead. Charges will be introduced for mental health services, day care and transport from April 2012. The amount of income considered when working out charges changed to 100% from 12 December 2011, at the same time as the DREA amount changed to £17 per week.

KCC remains committed to providing adult social care for people with moderate level needs (as well as for those with critical or substantial level needs). In order for us to be able to do this, and to be able to meet the increasing demands on adult social care both in terms of what they cost and the numbers of additional people needing services, we need to raise more money from people who use those services, and who can afford to pay more for them.

Most other authorities only provide for people with critical or substantial level needs; out of the 152 councils who provide adult social services there are only 26 that still offer to support people with moderate needs. Our members believe it is really important we maintain this level of support to people in Kent.