
Proposed changes to the Council’s Fair Contributions Policy
Proposed changes to the Council’s Fair Contributions Policy
Northamptonshire Adult Social Services have published the following consultation.
“As a council with responsibility for social care, we must make sure that people who are eligible for social care have their needs met, within the financial resources available. At the same time, we must make sure that where customers meet the financial criteria to make a contribution towards the cost of their care, they do so in a way that meets current national regulations and guidance. We do this in a way which is equitable and fair and is clearly explained in policy statements.
Social care is means tested. This means that everyone contributes what they can afford towards the cost of their care. This does not include services that are provided by the NHS, for example community nurses.
We want to make sure that we provide a fair service to all people who are eligible for Care and Support. We want those who can afford it to make a fair contribution towards the services they receive.
We are reviewing our Fair Contributions Policy and are proposing the following three changes, which we are consulting on:
- A change to the rate of Disability Related Expenditure (DRE) to have a single standard rate of £23 per week, instead of having two levels as at present (£18 per week for people on the lower/middle rate of benefits and £28 per week for people on the higher rate of benefits)
- A change to the level of Older Person’s Standard Income Disregard (a deduction of £5.50 per week to the current standard rate) which would bring the Council in line with other authorities and Department of Health guidance
- A change to the current charging model for residential college charges, so that all affected customers are charged a reduced amount for their care provisions by charging under domiciliary (home care) rules
Have your say
You can give us your views in a number of ways. Please visit our web site for all of the different ways you can give your feedback to these proposals, including our standard online questionnaire or the easy read version of the questionnaire.
This consultation closes on 3 December 2019.