1. Does your adults’ social services charging policy (or the practice required of your social services assessors and care planners during earlier stages of the Care Act process) mention a person’s receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) /Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Mobility Component as a reason for your adult social services department not funding transport to services within their Personal Budget (services that are being commissioned in the person’s care plan to meet the person’s eligible unmet needs)?
Please see Devon County Council’s charging policy for non-residential services which is already publicly available on our website:
Charging Policy for Community Based Services for Adults.
2. If so, is it possible for the person to provide evidence that their Mobility Component income is not otherwise available for such transport, in order to bring about a different outcome regarding the scope of their Personal Budget?
N/A.
3. Does your adults’ social services charging policy (or the practice required of your adults’ social services assessors and/or care planners during earlier stages of the Care Act process) state that a person’s request for a disregard from income of privately incurred Disability Related Expenditure on the person’s transport needs will only be allowed to the extent that and for the sum by which their transport expenditure exceeds the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) /Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Mobility Component ?
Please note that the Charging Policy specifically relates to the treatment of income, capital and expenditure within the financial assessment. Decisions around the Personal Budget are not made within the financial assessment. Please see section 4 regarding Income and section 7.2 regarding expenses.
Devon County Council also has guidance on how we apply the principles of eligibility for adult care and support in the Care Act 2014 to travel and transport: How we will support you to travel to adult social care support and services.
4. If in doubt about whether the wording in your charging policy or practice guidance to staff has the effect of the stances at 1) and 3), above, please just provide us with the wording related to Mobility Component, and any link to the document that might be found online.
Please refer to the Charging Policy for Community Based Services for Adults.
Devon County Council does not hold any further information.