Issue - meetings

Shared Lives - Review of Charging for Living Expenses

 

 

Meeting: 07/06/2016 - Cabinet (Item 8)

8 Review of Shared Lives Client Living Expenses pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

Background:

 

On 7 July 2015, Cabinet approved The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 policy, relating to charging for adult social care and support services.

 

This report provided an overview of a proposed addition to charging arrangements in Medway which would require amendment to the agreed policy and feedback from the public consultation relating to the proposal (following Cabinet’s approval on 8 March 2016 for consultation to be undertaken on the proposal). 

 

A Diversity Impact Assessment was included with the report at Appendix C.

 

Decision number:

Decision:

85/2016

The Cabinet agreed to the proposed charge being introduced, as set out in paragraph 2.8 of the report, from 1 July 2016.

 

Reasons:

 

Whilst the response to the consultation was minimal; five out of the nine responses were positive, with two having no opinion.

 

Medway Council must ensure that charging for Adult Social Care is fair and equitable.  Currently, our Shared Lives clients were not being charged for normal living expenses and this was not in line with other clients living in the community who paid their own living expenses or those in residential care whose charges were much higher to take cover these costs.  The introduction of this charge would ensure all clients charged for Adult Social Care and Support Services were treated equally.

 

Furthermore, it was imperative that to enable care and support services to be provided to Medway’s most vulnerable people that income was maximised and additional costs avoided.  The proposed change in charging Shared Lives Clients would reduce the overall cost of the Shared Lives service to Medway Council.