Proposed changes to Barnet's Fairer Contributions Policy for Adult Social Care

This consultation has now closed.

The consultation was open from 14 November 2016 to 6 February 2017.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the proposal for Barnet's fairer contribution policy for adults social care consultation. We received 286 responses to the online and paper questionnaires, and are also are grateful to those who attended focus groups and drop-in sessions, and took part in interviews. Without your valuable input the consultation would not have been possible.

The changes to the Fairer Contributions Policy were approved on 28/02/17 by powers delegated to the Adults and Health Commissioning Director (in consultation with the Chairman

The consultation was open from 14 November 2016 to 6 February 2017.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the proposal for Barnet's fairer contribution policy for adults social care consultation. We received 286 responses to the online and paper questionnaires, and are also are grateful to those who attended focus groups and drop-in sessions, and took part in interviews. Without your valuable input the consultation would not have been possible.

The changes to the Fairer Contributions Policy were approved on 28/02/17 by powers delegated to the Adults and Health Commissioning Director (in consultation with the Chairman of the Adults and Safeguarding Committee) by the Adults and Safeguarding Committee.

The full results from the consultation are provided in the full consultation report.

You can see how we have acted on the results under 'We asked, You said, We did'.


Overview

We are seeking your views on changing our Fairer Contributions Policy in a way that is fair and prioritises support for those in greatest need.

These proposals are about fees and charges for community based (non-residential) care services which include: home care, day care, supported living, extra care, direct payments and other services financially assessed under our Fairer Contributions Policy.

Our Fairer Contributions Policy has largely remained unchanged since 2011. However in the last five years there have been a number of changes from central government which directly or indirectly impact on local authority contribution policies. These include changes to welfare benefits, new community care legislation and market changes within the care sector.

We need to consider these changes because adult social care services are under growing pressure. The amount of money available for councils to spend has reduced and will continue to reduce over the coming years. There is also growing demand for adult social care services, driven by population growth and an increase in life expectancy.

Despite economic growth, Barnet Council faces a significant budget gap of £61.5 million between now and 2020. This means that many of the council’s services have to make savings and do things differently to ensure we can continue providing the services we know that residents value and rely on.

We need to review and adjust the contributions that people pay to make sure that charges and fees are fair and sustain services. Contributions towards the costs of care will continue to be assessed on income, savings and outgoings to make sure that that no one is asked to pay more than they can afford.

We estimate that these proposals for non-residential care services would generate an additional £290 thousand to cover the cost of care in 2017/18.

We have provided further information on the new proposals in our consultation document.


Why we are consulting

We want to find out what you think about our proposals before a final decision is made.

The consultation is open to all Barnet residents, anybody using adult social care services in Barnet, their carers and families and those that work with adults in the borough.

The findings from the consultation will contribute to the final recommendations that are put forward in the spring of 2017. The Committee will then make a decision on the way forward and if approved would come into effect from April 2017.

This consultation has now closed.

  • Feedback Updated 1 March 2017

    by JessBTT, over 2 years ago

    We asked

    We asked for your views on changing our Fairer Contributions Policy in a way that was fair and prioritises support for those in greatest need. The proposals were about fees and charges for community based (non-residential) care services which include: home care, day care, supported living, extra care, direct payments and other services financially assessed under our Fairer Contributions Policy. The specific changes proposed were:

    1. raising the maximum contribution for home care to match the lowest hourly rate we pay our providers
    2. raising the maximum contribution for day care to reflect the actual...

    We asked

    We asked for your views on changing our Fairer Contributions Policy in a way that was fair and prioritises support for those in greatest need. The proposals were about fees and charges for community based (non-residential) care services which include: home care, day care, supported living, extra care, direct payments and other services financially assessed under our Fairer Contributions Policy. The specific changes proposed were:

    1. raising the maximum contribution for home care to match the lowest hourly rate we pay our providers
    2. raising the maximum contribution for day care to reflect the actual amount paid to providers for an individual’s care
    3. including the higher rate of Disability Allowance and Attendance Allowance as income
    4. aligning the council’s guaranteed minimum income to the Department of Health’s guaranteed minimum income or the current level whichever is the highest.


    The consultation involved posting consultation packs to people who use community care services, writing to their carers, emailing key stakeholders and hosting drop-in sessions across the borough as well as putting the proposals and an online survey on Engage Barnet. A total of 286 questionnaires and responses were received from the general public and interested groups.

    You said

    Opinion was fairly evenly split on raising the maximum contribution for day care. However, some of the open ended responses may indicate that some respondents considered the proposals to be about provider payment rates rather than service user contribution rates. If this is the case, then it is possible that the majority of respondents disagree with the proposal.

    There was slightly more disagreement than agreement on the proposal to raise the maximum contribution for day care.

    More respondents disagreed than agreed with the proposals to include the higher rate of Disability Allowance and Attendance Allowance as income and to align the council’s guaranteed minimum income to the Department of Health’s guaranteed minimum income or the current level whichever is the highest.

    Please read the full consultation report for further information.

    We did

    All feedback from the consultation was given due consideration. Whilst there is a proposal in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy to not increase Council Tax in 2017/18, it also proposes applying the Social Care Precept at the maximum of 3%. This has been taken into account in assessing the Council’s financial resources available for adult social care. Taking all this into account, it is considered that alternative savings proposals (for example further cuts to preventative services) would have a greater adverse impact than implementing these proposals.

    The changes to the Fairer Contributions Policy were approved on 28/02/17 by powers delegated to the Adults and Health Commissioning Director (in consultation with the Chairman of the Adults and Safeguarding Committee) by the Adults and Safeguarding Committee.