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Changes To Social Care Charges

Published on 17 October 2024 09:31 AM

If you are currently in receipt of care from Norfolk County Council, you will have received a letter from them in August, explaining that there will be some changes to the charges they are making and telling you what your new charge will be.   The difficult decision to make the changes was agreed in the Cabinet meeting that took place on 5th August 2024.  

Changes for people under state pension age

From 4th November 2024 Norfolk County Council is making changes to the amount that you will be asked to pay towards any Adult Social Care Services that you receive.

The Government sets the level of income that someone can retain to cover their weekly living costs, when care costs are being calculated.   This is known as the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG).   In Norfolk, the MIG for everyone aged between 18 and the State pension age has been lowered to £183.25 a week, instead of £199.67 per week.   This will result in many people having to increase the amount of money they contribute towards the cost of any care services they receive.  

Care charges are paid in arrears, so the higher charges won’t be payable until the week commending 13th January 2025, as that is when you will receive the invoice which includes the care charges for the period between 4th November and 1st December 2024.    

Disability Related Expenditure - DRE

If you spend more on things related to your disability illness or mental health condition, you can claim a disregard or allowance against these costs.   The council will take this related expenditure into account when they are working out what you need to pay for your care.   For example, the cost of paying for a community alarm system, buying special dietary food or high spending on heating because your health condition means you feel the cold more will be looked at when the council is calculating your contribution to your care costs

Self-funders

A letter, setting out the fee changes, has also gone out to anyone whose capital and/or assets are above £23,250 and who has used Norfolk County Council Adult Social Care Services to find social care services on their behalf.

From 4th November 2024 the charges will be as follows:

  • For sourcing care only - £20.45 per service.
  • For sourcing and ongoing contracting - £65.91 per service.

This fee will be applied each time a request for a change of provider or placement is made.

There will also be an ongoing fee for managing the contract.   This will be a 4-weekly fee of £10.09 (£131.20 annually).   The fees will either be shown on the 4-weekly invoices that are issued for care services or as a one-off invoice sourcing care only.   The first invoice you receive which includes the new charges will be for the week commencing 9th December 2024.   It will cover the period from 4th November to the week ending 1st December.   It will include the ongoing fee of £10.09 for that period, but the sourcing and contracting fee will only be charged if you request a change of provider or placement because you already have a care arrangement in place. 

New Age UK report – The State of Health and Care of Older People in 2024

At the same time as the above changes, Age UK has just published a report highlighting the fact that older people are often struggling due to insufficient access to high quality NHS treatment, as well as social care, and that the system is currently under prepared for population ageing.  

The report concludes that the focus should be more on early prevention, supporting older people at home or in a care home to stay fit and well.   Age UK states that 2 million older people in England are now living with some unmet need for social care.   These are long-standing problems, which were greatly exacerbated by the pandemic and the rising older population which is projected to be 4.3 million by 2044.  

You can read the report in detail here The State of Health and Care of Older People in 2024[i]

Concerns

The Norfolk County Council decision was based on the need to make financial savings as there is a large deficit in the council’s 2024/25 budget, due to insufficient funding for social care from the Government.   We understand that even with the MIG changes in place, Norfolk County Council is still more generous than the statutory MIG levels and compares more favourably than with many other local authorities that are already using Government rates.   

Before the changes were agreed, there was a 12-week consultation, which had 546 responses.    There were high levels of concern from carers regarding the impact that the changes might have on them.   The council also carried out an Equality Impact assessment which highlighted that the change may have a significant impact on some of the county’s most vulnerable people in receipt of social care.   The Cabinet chose not to implement the second option in the consultation, which focused on 18-24 years old, as this proposed a larger reduction in the MIG for that age group and as such would have meant a greater financial impact on a small group of people.     

However, we are concerned that the changes to the care charges could lead to some people deciding not to pay for the care that they need, which does not fit in with the focus on prevention that the above Age UK report is calling for.  If you are thinking of reducing or stopping your care, please seek advice beforehand.   There are some sources of further help below.  

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: ““The Government has not yet said what it intends to do in terms of reforming and refinancing social care, though it has made it clear that it sees social care playing a crucial role in the more joined up, community-based Health and Care approach it wants to see supporting older people to stay fit and well at home. We completely agree with Ministers and with Lord Darzi that this is the right direction of travel, but the question we would ask is whether it will prove possible to achieve this without the comprehensive social care reform which Ministers suggest it will be impossible to achieve during this Parliament.”

In respect of Social Care, the Age UK report recommendations are:

  • Stabilise the social care sector and act quickly to consult on putting funding on a sustainable footing.
  • Within 18 months, publish a comprehensive plan to reform social care and commit to implementing it during this Parliament.
  • Fund an immediate pay rise for care professionals, and within two years publish a comprehensive social care workforce plan, joined up with the NHS Workforce Plan.
  • Introduce a right to at least five days of paid Carer’s Leave, plus a longer period of unpaid leave.
  • Significantly increase access to respite services and practical support for carers that recognises the specific needs of older carers.

Sources of further help: