Issue - meetings

Contributions Policy

 

 

Meeting: 17/09/2013 - Cabinet (Item 105)

105 Contributions Policy pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care

Forward Plan Ref: 2013/037

Contact: Sarah Fogden, Finance Business Partner (Adult Social Care) Tel: 07557 082613/Ben Threadgold, Strategy Manager Tel: (01865) 328219

 

Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CA13).

 

Oxfordshire County Council aims to support and promote strong communities so that people live their lives as successfully, independently and safely as possible. The Council aims to encourage independence and choice, promote prevention and early intervention, be fair and equitable and give service users more power and control over their lives.

 

Social care is not a free service and the way funding is allocated from central government makes it clear that councils need to collect income locally to contribute to the cost of services.

 

The purpose of the Adult Social Care Contributions Policy is to outline a fair approach to the financial contributions made by individuals towards the social care services they receive. The Council is committed to making its approach to these contributions as simple and straightforward as possible. 

 

Changes in national policy, lessons learnt from implementing personal budgets and direct payments, as well as inconsistencies that have been identified in our current practice, mean that it is timely to review our contributions policy. This is also an opportunity to address inconsistencies that have been identified in current policy and implementation, and through the recent audit of adult social care, such as people paying providers directly for day opportunities and double-handed care being charged different rates from people paying through personal budgets.

 

The new policy essentially restates the principles in the current policy as the basis on which we seek contributions from individuals towards the cost of their care. This is primarily through contributions to their personal budget, but also includes services that incur a charge either from the provider or from the Council. However, there are a number of areas where changes are proposed, which will have implications for service users and the Council.

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to agree the Contributions Policy for Adult Social Care, for implementation with effect from 5th January 2014.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet had before them a report seeking approval to the Contributions Policy for Adult Social Care The purpose of the Adult Social Care Contributions Policy is to outline a fair approach to the financial contributions made by individuals towards the social care services they receive.

 

Councillor Laura Price, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care hoped that the pricing policy would be clear and understandable. She also urged that where people faced an increase in charges they be engaged in the process in a timely way.

 

Councillor Heathcoat in introducing the report commented that all the recent strategies were aimed at supporting strong communities with people living their lives as independently as possible. She corrected an error on page 186 noting that the correct number was 27 as referred to earlier in the report.

 

RESOLVED:             to agree the Contributions Policy for Adult Social Care, for implementation with effect from 5th January 2014.