Consultation on community care funding proposals

A consultation on three options designed to make Derbyshire County Council’s policy sustainable will run until Wednesday 4 October.

People who receive adult social care and support in the community and/or their representatives will receive a letter including a copy of a questionnaire to fill in and return. The proposals do not affect anyone living permanently in a residential or nursing home. An online version of the questionnaire is also available for the public to give their views.

Under the Care Act 2014 Derbyshire County Council have a legal duty to assess anyone who requests adult care support, regardless of their financial circumstances, to determine if they have any eligible social care needs. If they are assessed as having eligible care needs they then undergo a financial assessment to work out how much they should contribute towards the cost of receiving that support.

Councils can decide how much to charge people who receive care and support in the community and to date the county council has:

• Set a capital limit of £50,000 before someone has to pay the full cost of their care in the community – the national limit is £23,250
• Assessed a tariff income of £1 in every £500 for people with capital assets between £14,250 and £50,000. The national tariff income is £1 in every £250 for people with capital assets between £14,250 and £23,250.
• Set an upper limit of £51.07 - or a maximum of 75% of relevant benefits - on what people are asked to contribute. Research shows most authorities charge people on 100% of their disposable income.

People are now being asked for their views on three options to change DCC’s community care charging policy to:

Option 1:

• Introduce the national capital limit of £23,250
• Introduce the national tariff income of £1 in every £250 for those with capital between £14,250 - £23,250
• Charge on 100% of disposable income with a £20 a week disability related expenditure disregard (an automatic weekly allowance for all people).

Option 2:

• The same as Option 1 but charge on 90% of disposable income with a £20 a week disability related expenditure disregard (an automatic weekly allowance for all people).

Option 3:

• The same as Option 1 but charge on 80% of disposable income with a £20 a week disability related expenditure disregard (an automatic weekly allowance for all people).

People are also asked about DCC’s disability related expenditure process. Under the proposed new policy, charges relating to respite in a residential care home or nursing home would also change and be based on the person’s capital and disposable income.

Online and face-to-face public meetings have also been delivered and more can be arranged with groups and communities who are interested. There is an online meeting on: Monday 21 August – Microsoft Teams – 10.30am-12pm Places must be booked in advance by contacting the county council’s Stakeholder Engagement and Consultation Team on 01629 531307 or emailing tell.adultcare@derbyshire.gov.uk

The team can support people who need help filling out the questionnaire, send out paper copies of the questionnaire and can supply them in different languages and formats on request. Find out more information about the proposals and take part in the consultation.