From 1^st April 2015 statutory guidance on charging for care and support under the Care Act is provided in The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014. The new law for adult care and support sets out a clearer and fair approach to charging and financial assessments with one of the drivers of the Care Act 2014 being the portability of care and financial assessments; this would be better achieved if Bradford was to adopt the standard alternative that is used by the surrounding Local Authorities of Leeds, Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield and the majority of Local Authorities in England

Prior to any changes being made to the Policy, the Council is required to carry out a formal consultation on the proposed change and this report details the outcome of that consultation.

The report of the Interim Strategic Director Adult and Community Services (Document “S”) also suggests that consideration should be given to including charges for the Shared Lives Scheme in the Contributions Policy. It also suggests introducing charges for other services not currently charged for under the Policy.

No changes will be made to service users contributions until a full reassessment has been carried out.

Recommended –

That the Executive approves Option 2 detailed in Document “S” which will include an Appeals process where consideration will be given to transitional arrangements for those most adversely affected.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Health and Social Care

·        That the fear was that the cost of activities and services would double for those in receipt of payments without the necessary financial assistance from the Council.

·        That the consultation process should have been in an easy read format to enable people with learning disabilities to comprehend, as people had failed to understand the extent of the policy change.

·        That the impact of the changes on people with learning disabilities would be profound and there would be a further impact on peoples health and wellbeing as they were no longer able to afford for services that were necessary for them.

·        That the Care Reviews already took a long time to complete and under the proposed changes they would take even longer.

·        That the Council had a duty of care to people with learning disabilities and ensure they received the correct support.

·        That the changes would disproportionality affect older carers and those with a learning disability.

·        That just because other Councils had adopted the changes wasn’t a sound reason for Bradford to go down the same road.

·        That the current system enabled people with a learning disability to integrate with the wider society and do ‘normal things’.

·        That the impact of the changes would mean that people with a learning disability would spend more time at home and this would turn back the clock when people with a learning disability were not seen in the wider community.

·        That Healthwatch had expressed concerns about the changes as well as Councillors at a recent Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, particularly regarding the consultation process,

·        That the changes would lead to people with a learning disability being isolated in their own homes and devoid of interaction.

In response to some of the issues raised, the Interim Strategic Director stressed that under the proposals the aim would be look at the range of activities being undertaken and the cost of those activities.  He added that the service was keen to ensure that people could access the community, and the review will  therefore take into account the individual circumstances and the benefits they were in receipt of, as well as their disposable income. 

In response to a question on the time it will take to undertake the individual assessments, the Interim Strategic Director stressed that the Council was duty bound to review circumstances, and that additional staff will be recruited to ensure that the assessments were done in a timely fashion.

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder stated that she accepted that aspects of the consultation process was flawed and for this she apologised and that the Council will learn from this.  That she emphasised with the points that had been made and that we will not know the impact on individuals until a full assessment was undertaken.  She added that there were some anomalies with the charging policy and it was important to treat people on an equitable basis and that the decision was primarily based on the financial situation facing the Council.

The Leader echoed the above sentiments that the decision had to be seen in the overall financial context of the Council and the reductions in the funding the Council received and in this context, the Council was having to make difficult decisions.