Paying for non-residential adult social care and support services From April 2016 to March 2017
What is this booklet about? 2 What do you mean by non-residential care and support services? 3 The financial assessment process 5 Capital, savings and assets 8 Personal allowances 10 This booklet explains how the council works out how much you have to pay for non-residential adult social care services. It explains the financial assessment process and what information we include and exclude when working out what your contribution will be. Who is this information for? people who require non-residential care and support services from the council their family and carers people who work for the council or the health service voluntary organisations and other organisations who work with adults Introduction There is a cost for most of the care and support services provided by the council. We will financially assess you to find out whether you will need to pay a contribution to this. We will take account of your income (including benefits), savings and essential outgoings and any disability related expenditure. The government provides councils with guidance on how to charge in a fair and reasonable way. More information on the charging guidance can be found at www.gov.uk under Care Act 2014: Care and Support Statutory Guidance. All resident charges are reviewed annually by councillors and are generally increased from the first invoice date in April each year. 2
What do you mean by non-residential care and support services? Non-residential care and support services include the following: care provided in your home respite care (short break care) day care attendance transport to Day Care Centre personal budgets (self-directed support) direct payments meals on wheels (fixed charge no assessment required) supporting people services
Choosing the support you need We think it s important that you choose the care and support you need to live your life. You choose when you get it and from whom you get it. You don t need to get the care and support from the council, you can buy your services from independent care agencies or organisations elsewhere. We will carry out a needs assessment and decide on the personal budget you need to buy the care and support you need. Your personal budget will depend on your level of need. You can use your personal budget to buy services from the council or arrange your own care and support with cash payments from the council. These payments are known as direct payments. You may choose a combination of direct payments and purchasing services directly from the council.
The financial assessment process How do I get financially assessed? To ask for an assessment contact the First Contact Service on 020 8583 3100 or email: adultsocialcare@hounslow.gov.uk you will receive an interim financial assessment form from the social worker when they carry out a needs assessment. This establishes whether you are eligible for social care and support services. the social worker will fill in the form with you. once the form has been completed, it is sent to the financial assessment team. the financial assessment team will contact you if more information about your income, savings, and expenditure is needed. the team will calculate the amount you will need to pay towards the cost of your care and support services. How will you work out whether I need to contribute something towards my care and support services? If you are assessed as needing non-residential care and support services, we use a formula to work out what your contribution will be. We calculate: Resident s total income Less personal allowance (as set by the Department of Health) Less fixed charges (housing costs, council tax, etc) Less Disability Related Expenditure (DRE) Equals net disposable income (the amount the resident is required to contribute) 5
What financial information do I need to give you to work out my income and savings? To establish if the various types of income and savings are included or disregarded in the financial assessment, London Borough of Hounslow contribution policy follows the Care and Support Statutory Guidance issued by the Department of Health under Care Act 2014. We use the following information to work out your income and savings: state benefits (state pension, income support, job seekers allowance, universal credit, employment support allowance, pension credit, disability living allowance (care component), Personal Independence Payment, incapacity benefits, carers allowance, attendance allowance) occupational pensions, private pensions, and annuities tariff income from capital and savings (see explanation below under capital, savings and assets ). rental income from lodgers regular income from other sources The following sources of income are not taken into account in the financial assessment: pension credit (savings credit) disability Living Allowance (mobility component) child benefit working tax credit family tax credit social fund payments winter fuel payment 6
housing and council tax benefits christmas bonus war widows and war widowers special payments employment Income (wages and salaries) These lists are not exhaustive or exclusive, but include the most common forms of income and allowances. What if I don t want to be financially assessed, or do not disclose my financial details? You have the right to choose not to give us your financial details, but it will mean that you will have to pay the full amount of any care and support services provided by the council from the date these services start.
Capital, savings and assets We use Statutory Guidance on Care Act 2014 to work out your contribution in line with the capital, savings or assets you have. You will be assessed to pay the full cost of your care and support services if you: a. have savings or assets of 23,250 or more b. own property or properties other than your normal place of residence c. refuse to complete a financial assessment form, or provide evidence of your savings, income, assets and outgoings d. have been sponsored to come to the UK under a sponsorship agreement with the Home Office - your sponsor will be required to pay the full cost of any care and support services provided to you The capital thresholds are reviewed annually by the Department of Health. Examples of capital and savings include: Cash Funds held in a bank, building society and post office accounts Savings bonds, premium bonds Stocks and shares, ISA s, PEP s The value of any land or property (other than the main residence where you live) Compensation payments Savings or capital held in joint names will be assumed to be held in equal proportions unless there is evidence to prove otherwise. 8
Am I allowed to make gifts of money or assets to my friends and family? There are guidelines that have been set for councils to follow to reduce the possibility of people giving away their capital or their assets, simply to reduce any charge they have to pay for their care and support. Simply put, the timing of any gift will be considered when deciding whether a resident has intentionally given away assets to friends or family. In cases where we feel that money was given away intentionally to reduce the amount you have to pay, we will treat you as though you were still in possession of the asset. This is known as notional capital. This means that you will be financially assessed as having capital you do not actually have. The following are examples of deprivation (although not necessarily for the purposes of avoiding a charge for accommodation): a lump-sum payment has been made to someone else (e.g. as a gift or to repay a debt) substantial expenditure has been incurred (e.g. on an expensive holiday) the title deeds of a property have been transferred to someone else money has been put into a trust which cannot be revoked money has been converted into another form which would fall to be disregarded (e.g. personal possessions) capital has been reduced by living extravagantly (e.g. gambling or following a much higher standard of living than the resident could normally afford) capital has been used to buy an investment bond with life insurance 9
Personal allowances What is a personal allowance and how is it calculated The personal allowance is the amount you are allowed to keep from your income for your day to day living expenses. The level of the personal allowance is set by the Department of Health and is dependent upon your age and the cost of living entitlement (income support or pension credit rates set by the Department of Work and Pensions) plus an additional 25 per cent in accordance with the rules of the Contribution Policy. Personal allowances are reviewed annually in line with the increase in benefits.
What expenditure do you include when working out my fixed charges? Certain fixed charges are allowed as expenditure in the financial assessment, but only if you are responsible for the payment of these charges and these are not included in the benefits you receive. The charges that can be taken into account in the financial assessment are: service charges mortgage rent home improvement loan council tax LinkLine court orders The following charges are not included in the fixed charges element of the financial assessment because they are allowed for in the personal allowance rates: utility bills (gas, electricity, water, telephone) credit card debts insurance policies television including satellite and cable TV Is the extra expenditure because of my disability taken into account? The Department of Health defines Disability Related Expenditure as any reasonable additional expenditure that a resident incurs for independent living due to a disability or illness. Examples include additional heating, laundry or transport costs. To qualify for this allowance, the resident must be in receipt of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (Care Component) or Personal Independence Payment (Daily Living Component). 11
The Disability Related Expenditure is calculated at 30% of Attendance Allowance lower rate or Disability Living Allowance (Care Component) at middle rate or Personal Independence Payment Enhanced Rate. Based on the current rate of these benefits as at 1 April 2016, the standard DRE allowance is set at 16.53 per week. If a resident incurs Disability Related Expenditure in excess of the standard amount, they can request an assessment of the actual costs they incur. The resident must provide evidence to support the actual amounts claimed. The maximum Disability Related Expenditure allowed will not exceed the amount of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment taken into account as income in the financial assessment. What if I need more information or specialist help to fill in my form? A member of the financial assessment team will help you fill in your financial assessment form. For more information contact the financial assessment team by telephone on 020 8583 3939/4523/3039 or email: financialassessmentteam@hounslow.gov.uk or write to them at: The Financial Assessment Team, Corporate Resources Civic Centre, Lampton Road, Hounslow TW3 4DN 12
Treatment of couples Do you take my partner s income into account? The Statutory Guidance issued under the Care Act states that the local authority has no power to assess couples or civil partners according to their joint resources. Each person is therefore treated individually. The personal allowance (as described on page 9) will be calculated at the couple rate plus 25% and the result halved for individual rate. We will also take into account: all individual savings, and half of any joint savings all individual income and half of any joint income (eg. joint pension credit, joint income support, or joint employment support allowance) half of all fixed charges (eg. rent, council tax, service charges, etc) What if both my partner and I are receiving services: If both you and your partner receive services, then each of you will be assessed as an individual as described above. What if both my partner and I are receiving services? If both you and your partner receive services, then all of your savings above 14,250 will be taken into account. We ignore the value of the property you live in. However, we will take into account the value of any additional property that you own or part own, as well as income from rent and other assets. This may mean that you may have to pay the full cost of your care and support services. Paying the full cost of services What if I am assessed to pay the full cost of services? If you are assessed or offer to pay the full cost of your services, it may be cheaper to buy your services directly from an independent provider. A copy of Hounslow s approved list of independent providers is available from your social worker. Alternatively, a full list of all registered providers is available from the Care Quality Commission Inspection or you can search on www.careplace.org.uk. 13
Write to them at: CQC National Customer Service Centre Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle Upon Time, NE1 4PA Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk Web: www.cqc.org.uk or Financial re-assessments What if I am unhappy with the result of my financial assessment or I have problems paying the assessed contribution? You can request a review of your assessed charges. Such a request must be made in writing within one month of the date of the decision being made, giving your reasons why you are requesting a review. Your financial assessment will then be looked at again, usually by the financial assessment team manager. Please write to the assessment team if you think: your assessed contribution is causing financial hardship we have not taken into account all of your living costs the charge you have been asked to pay has been worked out incorrectly The council cannot cancel or remove services, even if customers refuse to pay the assessed contribution for their care. However, the council will take all necessary steps to recover any amounts owing, including legal action. When and in what circumstances do you carry out financial re-assessments? We carry out financial re-assessments if: your circumstances change which may affect your assessed contribution you receive additional benefits following a financial assessment you request a financial re-assessment 14
Please let the financial assessment team know if your financial circumstances change because this may affect your assessed contribution. We will carry out a re-assessment and then back-date it to the date of the change in circumstances or the date when you received additional benefits. We will write to you if there is any change in your weekly contribution. Paying my contribution How will I pay my assessed contribution? if you receive a personal budget through a direct payment from the council, your contribution will be taken from the full amount of your personal budget. The remainder (or your net amount) of personal budget will be paid to you. We do expect you to spend the full value of your personal budget on your care and support needs i.e. the council contribution plus your assessed contribution. The council will check that the full value of your personal budget is being spent on your care and support. if you receive your personal budget via a payment card, you will be invoiced (usually every four weeks) for your assessed contribution. if you are unable to manage your personal budget and it is managed by the council, you will be invoiced (usually every four weeks) for your assessed contribution. Annual uplift of assessed contribution: Each April we will re-calculate your assessed contribution following the annual increase in benefits awarded by the Department of Work and Pensions. We will then write to you to let you know of any change in your assessed contribution. 15
First Contact Service - Children s, Housing and Adult s Services London Borough of Hounslow Civic Centre, Lampton Road Hounslow TW3 4DN Email: adultsocialcare@hounslow.gov.uk Telephone: 020 8583 3100 www.hounslow.gov.uk Communications September 2016