Need Social Care?

A guide to non-residential care charges from April 2008

A5 Booklet - print version Guide to Non-Residential Care Charges  (74.95 KB) See also: Charging Policy for Non-residential Care Services

1. About this guide

This guide contains information about the cost to you of receiving care services in the community from Worcestershire Social Care Services. Further copies are available from your local Social Care office or from the Community Care Finance Team at County Hall, Worcester.

2. Services covered by this guide

The following services are covered by this guide:

• Home care: that is where someone comes into your home to undertake personal and practical tasks such as getting you up, washing, toileting, shopping, cleaning and putting you to bed.
• Facilitative care: this is where someone comes into your home to help you complete practical tasks yourself. This includes similar services provided through ‘Supporting People’.
• Day care: care at a day centre or other centre funded by Social Care Services.
• Transport to and from a day centre.
• Costs of meals at home* or at the day centre.

* Charges for meals provided by the WRVS service are collected separately.

3. A quick summary of charges

Meals cost £2.51 each.
Transport costs £3.08 per return journey.
Day care costs £4.46 per day (or £2.23 per session).
There can be up to 3 sessions per day.
A session covers mornings, afternoons or evenings.
Home care costs £11.68 per hour.

4. Does everyone have to pay for these services?

Everyone has to pay for meals and transport.  

However, if you are on a low income or have high costs because of any disability you may have, some or all home care and day care attendance charges may be waived.

If you meet certain criteria there is no charge for home care or day care attendance. Your Social Worker will tell you whether you meet these criteria.

5. A few general points

• A week’s charges run from Saturday to the following Friday
• Part hours of home care are charged to the nearest quarter hour
• There is a minimum home care charge per visit of £2.84 per visit.

6. Is what you pay the same as the cost to the County Council?

No, the service costs much more than the amount you will be asked to pay. Home care can cost up to £15 per hour and day care £40 per day, meals £3.85 and the average cost of transport is £9.00.

7. What will happen when I begin to receive a service?

A Social Worker will discuss with you what services you require and make sure that you have seen this information. Charges will begin from the start of service and your Social Worker will ask a Finance and Benefit Officer to visit to complete a financial assessment to work out how much you should pay.

If you would like a financial assessment before your service starts please discuss this with your Social Worker as it may delay your service starting.

If you do not wish to complete a financial assessment you do not have to but you will be asked to pay all charges.

The Finance and Benefits Officer will ask you about all your income, capital and outgoings. You need to have the following available for them to see when they visit:

• Details of any benefits you receive
• Details of all bank accounts
• Details of any other capital you might have, e.g. ISAs, shares
• Heating bills
• Details of any rent, Council Tax or other housing costs
• Receipts for items you have purchased because of any disability

They will also make sure that you are getting all the benefits that you are entitled to and assist you to apply for any if you wish.

8. How will I know what I have to pay?

The Finance and Benefit Officer will give you a letter to confirm how much you have to pay and a summary of the calculation used to assess your charge.

9. What will be taken into account when a financial assessment is completed?

• 9.1. If you have capital:
  If you have savings and investments above £22,250 ()
  not including the property you live in) you will be asked to pay all the charges detailed in section 3. A full financial assessment will not be completed. You will only be offered a home care service in exceptional circumstances, otherwise, after a care assessment we will help you to find the care you need privately.
  
  

9.2. If you have capital below £22,250
You will be asked to give more details of your financial circumstances.

You will be asked to provide evidence of income and savings, housing costs and any costs you have because of any disability. We will then work out how much income you have available to pay a home care or day care attendance charge.

Some income and expenditure is disregarded from the calculation. It is quite complicated and this will be explained by the Finance and Benefits Officer at the time of your financial assessment.

9.3. What if I only receive Income Support?
If you receive Income Support, or Pension Credit, and no other income or benefits, you will not have to pay an attendance or home care charge. However, we will complete a financial assessment to make sure that you are not entitled to any other benefits.

9.4  So how much do I pay?

    > You will be charged the rates in section 3 until your maximum weekly charge,
       calculated from your financial assessment, is reached
    > We will not ask you to pay any more than this each week for home care and
       day care attendance charges, unless your financial circumstances change
    > If the kind of service or level of service you receive changes, the charge will
       never be more than this figure
    > If the maximum weekly charge we can ask you to pay is nothing you do not have
       to pay for day care attendance or home care, but you still pay the charges for meals
       and transport outlined in section 3
    > If your financial circumstances change, you must tell us as the amount you will be
       asked to pay might change.

10. Will the income of other people in the household be taken into account?
The assessment only relates to the person having the service.

If you live with a partner, you can ask for the assessment to cover both you and your partner if you wish. If the assessment for both of you results in a lower charge, this is the assessment we will use.

If you live with people other than your partner, their finances will not be included in the assessment. If they are also receiving a service they will be assessed separately.

However, we may only be able to tell you whether you are getting all the financial help you are entitled to if everyone in the household provides information about their financial circumstances.

11. What happens if I begin to receive other benefits or income?
If you begin to receive other income, e.g. Attendance

Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or Income Support, your charge will be reassessed. The new charge will apply from the date of the award, so if   the benefit has been backdated you will have to pay the County Council any arrears due. You will still be better off, however, as the extra money will always be more than any extra charge.

12. Paying charges

• 12.1  What ways can I use to pay my charges?
  
       >Most people pay weekly when they get their pension/benefits, or monthly when
         they receive a statement detailing services received and charges due
       >You can pay at the Post Office using a post office paying in card which will be
         sent to you after the financial assessment. You will be given a receipt by the Post
         Office when you pay
      > You can send a cheque to the Adult and Community Care Finance Team at County Hall
      > You can ask for a monthly standing order to be set up and pay directly from your
         bank account. Please ask the Adult and Community Care Finance Team for details
       >You can pay at one of Worcestershire County Council’s Contact Centres .
       >You can pay charges at some day centres.
  
  
• 12.2  Can someone else pay for me?
  Anyone can pay your charges for you if you wish them to. If someone else deals with your finances for you, with your permission we can send all letters and bills to them.

13. What happens if I have any queries?
You can phone or write to the Adult and Community Care Finance Team (details at the bottom of this page). If you write it is important that you include your account number which will be at the top of the letter telling you how much you should pay.

14. What happens if I do not agree with the amount I have been asked to pay, or I feel that I cannot afford to pay the charge?

• 14.1 If you do not agree with the amount you have been asked to pay or you believe that paying the charge will cause you financial hardship you can appeal against the charge. You can do so if one    or more of the following applies:
  
      > You have debts on which you are making regular payments
      > You do not agree with the amount that we have allowed for disability related
         expenditure or would like other expenditure to be taken into account
      > There are other special circumstances which apply to you and which mean that
         you should not be asked to pay the full amount.
  

14.2  How do I appeal?
The way the appeals process works is currently being reviewed. Details of the new appeals process will be published as soon as possible.
If you wish to appeal you can write to the Community Care Finance Team giving the reasons why you want your charge to be reviewed.

You should continue to pay your full charge until  a decision is made to avoid the build up of any arrears. If your appeal is successful any  over-payment will be credited to your account.

14.3  What happens if I would like help with my appeal?
If you need support or advice in doing this you can contact the Citizens Advocacy Service. This is a free service.

Telephone numbers:

Bromsgrove and Redditch  01527 520809
South Worcestershire   01905 27525
Wyre Forest    01562 820078

15. What happens if I want to make a complaint about the way I have been treated?

Please talk in the first instance to your care manager or the Senior Finance Officer responsible for charges. If you are still not satisfied contact the:

Consumer Relations Officer,
Worcestershire County Council,
Spetchley Road, Worcester WR5 2NP.

Tel: 01905 766366.

Related links

• Charging Policy for Non-Residential Services