• Do you currently charge recipients of ‘non-residential social care services’?
Yes
• Do you charge carers for support services that you provide to them?
We don’t charge carers for any support services that we provide to them. Replacement care that is provided to a care for person and which helps their carer to continue to provide care by giving them a break can be charged to the cared for person on a means tested basis but is not charged to the carer.
• When was the current charging policy introduced?
April 2015
• Was there an equality impact assessment prior to introducing the current charging policy?
Yes
• What risk issues were identified by the equality impact assessment?
The impact assessment identified the following risks:
– That increases in the contributions people are required to make towards the cost of social care coincide with reductions in income and/or support received from other agencies, so jeopardising the ‘minimum income guarantee’ individuals can rely on.
– That increases in the contributions people are required to make towards the cost of social care result in them choosing to cancel services which are contributing to their wellbeing.
• How have these risks been monitored since implementation of the charging policy?
Those risks have been monitored by ensuring that the adult social care management review process used with individuals takes account of the impact of their financial assessment.
• Is charging undertaken directly by the Local Authority or by a third party organisation on behalf of the council?
Charging is undertaken directly by the Local Authority
For the financial year 1st April 2017 – 31st March 2018
• How much money in total did the Local Authority receive from charging for non-residential care services?
£9.279m
• How many people received non-residential social care services?
12,670 people in receipt of Community based services between 01.04.17 and 31.03.18.
• How many people were charged for care and support?
On average we bill 2,760 people every 4 weeks plus there are approx. 150 net Direct Payments who have their charge deducted from their Direct Payment
• How much did the Local Authority spend on administration of the charging system? (Please include the cost undertaking financial assessments as well as collecting monitoring and processing income from charges).
£453,364
• How many formal complaints did the Local Authority receive relating to charging?
11
• How much money was written off as uncollected contributions?
£27,183
• How many people ceased receiving or failed to take up services following a financial assessment?
This information is not held by Devon County Council.