Community Care Charges
Effective From 11 April 2011
The Local Authority charge for provision of some Community Care
Services including Domiciliary Care, Home Care services including
respite, Telecare and Community Alarm services.
Service users have the opportunity to undertake a financial
assessment, in accordance with Welsh Assembly guidance, to enable
the Local Authority to calculate the amount that they will be
required to contribute toward the cost of services received.
Undertaking a financial assessment
Service Users requiring a financial assessment will be required
to complete a “Financial Assessment” form which will require proof
of income (benefits, pensions etc) and savings (bank and building
society accounts, shares, National Savings Certificates etc).
To work out how much you will be required to pay we
will:
- Calculate the weekly cost of the services that you receive,
based on a rate of £10.67 per hour for Domiciliary Care, £2.05 per
week for Lifeline and £7.75 per week for Telecare.
- Using information provided by you in respect of your income and
outgoings we will undertake a financial assessment to calculate the
“maximum charge” that you could be required to contribute towards
the services received. If you have a partner we may take some of
his/her income into account.
- You will be charged whichever is the lower of the figures
calculated in 1& 2 above.
The following income can be disregarded when undertaking the
financial assessment.
Disregards
- For people over 60 - automatic disregard of £199.16
- For people between 18 – 60 - automatic disregard of
£160.08
These figures are based on minimum income levels prescribed by
the Department for Work and Pensions plus an additional buffer of
45% above Income Support, Personal Allowance and Premiums.
Service users whose income falls below these levels will not be
required to pay for services received.
This is to ensure that after the assessment has been completed
service users have sufficient money to live on.
The following sources of income are NOT included in the
financial assessment:
- Mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- War pensions
- Pensions Savings Credit
- DLA Care Allowance/Attendance Allowance above £49.30, if you do
not receive night time care.
- Also we don’t take into account wages/salaries earned.
Eligible expenditure
Council Tax - We disregard your net Council Tax
payment for financial assessment purposes
Other Essential Expenses
Also we take into account essential expenses as follows:-
- If you have any dependent children living with you
- If you pay rent/mortgage for your housing (not covered by
Housing Benefit)
- If you have other exceptional expenses
We will consider all of these aspects and if appropriate deduct
them from your income to calculate the amount of income you have
available to spend.
If you think you have any additional expenses please bring these
to the attention of your Care Manager.
The maximum amount you will be required to pay towards your care
will be £50.00 per week with effect from 11 April
2011, following the introduction of statutory guidance made under
the Social Care Charges (Wales) Measure 2010.
Savings
Savings up to £22,500 will be disregarded in
the assessment. People with savings of £22,500 or
over will be required to contribute the full cost of care
up to a maximum of £50.00 per week.
Your financial circumstances will be reviewed annually – please
note that figures quoted are subject to amendment each year.
Non-Disclosure of Financial Information
What if I don’t want to tell you all about my
money?
You can choose not to have a financial assessment, if you do not
want to tell us about your income and savings. If so, you will be
asked to pay the full charge for the domiciliary service, at a rate
of £10.67 per hour, £2.05 per
week for the Lifeline Alarm only or £7.75 per week
for Telecare only, up to a maximum of £50.00 per
week.
How do I pay for Domiciliary Care?
You can pay for Domiciliary Care:-
- by sending a cheque or postal order directly to:
Community Care Assessments
Social Services Health & Housing
Civic Centre, Neath, SA11 3QZ
- in person at the Civic Centres in Neath and Port Talbot or the
One Stop Shop at Pontardawe.
How do I pay for the Lifeline Community Alarm or Telecare if I
do not have Domiciliary Care Services?
You will be invoiced calendar monthly and there are a range of
methods of payments which are explained on the reverse of the
invoice, these include direct debit, by post or at Civic
Centres.
What if I think you have made a mistake with the
calculation?
If you think that we have made a mistake in working out what you
should pay towards Domiciliary Care then please let us know
straight away and we will re-check our calculations. If you remain
unhappy with the outcome the situation can be reviewed again
through our appeals procedure.
What if my Income changes?
If there is a change in your circumstances, for example, if you
start getting a new benefit, please let us know straight away to
enable us to undertake another financial assessment. If arrears of
benefit are due to you the reassessment will be backdated to the
date the award started.
Maximising your income
Advice can be provided by the Authority’s Welfare Rights Unit to
make sure that you are getting all the benefits you are entitled
to. Where there are possibilities for you to claim extra benefits,
we will ask our Welfare Rights section to talk to you to give you
advice.
What if my domiciliary care package changes
If your care package increases and following a financial
assessment you are currently paying the maximum assessed charge
there will be no change to the weekly contribution you are required
to make.
If however you are either paying in full or paying less than
maximum charge calculated via your assessment, we will recalculate
the charge (up to a maximum of £50.00/week) and advise you
accordingly.
If your care package decreases then your charge may decrease and
we will advise you accordingly.
What happens to my domiciliary care charges when I go into
Respite Care?
Temporary changes will be taken into account when collecting the
weekly charge e.g. some admissions to respite care. Please advise
the Community Care Assessment Section in the Civic Centre in Neath
if the above arises to enable your charge to be adjusted if
necessary
What happens to my Lifeline and Telecare charges when I go into
respite care or hospital or any other absences from home?
You will be required to continue to pay for your Lifeline or
Telecare service when in respite care or hospital.
Any queries regarding the above should be directed to:
Community Care Assessments
Social Services Health & Housing Directorate
Civic Centre
Neath Sa11 3QZ
Tel 01639 685842
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Last Updated: 12.04.2011 at 16:41