Background
Barnet Council, like many other councils, charge assessed contributions towards the costs of Care and support. Barnet’s charging and contributions policy Fairer Contributions Policy. follows national guidance set by the Department of Health and Social Care and is published on the council's website. This policy will be reviewed and updated as required following the outcomes of the consultation.
The Council currently charges a one-off fee for residents above the capital/savings threshold who pay the full cost of their care but have asked the Council to arrange care on their behalf. This charge (£300) is significantly below the costs incurred by the Council as arranging and managing a care placement will include a number of roles, officer time and activities including: social workers, finance officers, and other administrative costs from systems, letters, legal advice and debt provision.
Barnet are proposing to increase this charge to £2000 and make it annual to reflect the actual administrative costs to the Council so it remains sustainable for the Council to continue to offer to arrange care for residents assessed to pay for their care in full.
Section 8.2 of Care and Support Statutory Guidance states - where a local authority arranges care and support to meet a person’s needs, it may charge the adult, except where the local authority is required to arrange care and support free of charge.
Where the person’s needs are to be met by care in a care home, the local authority may choose to meet those needs and arrange the care, but is not required to do so.
Where the person’s needs are to be met by care in a care home, the local authority may choose to meet those needs and arrange the care, but is not required to do so.
How to have your say
We are keen to hear your views on this Cost recovery for arranging care for people above the capital/savings threshold proposal.
Please give us your views by completing this online questionnaire.
Alternative formats of the engagement
If you are unable to complete the questionnaire online and would like to request a paper copy or another format of the questionnaire, please email: engage.adults@barnet.gov.uk
Any paper copies should be sent to Adult Social Care Fees and Charges Consultation, London Borough of Barnet, 1st Floor, Communities, Adults and Health, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EW
What happens after the engagement closes?
Your comments and responses to the surveys will assist us in deciding how best to progress with the proposed charges. Once a decision has been made, we will write to residents impacted by the changes to advise of them of the outcomes.
