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ITEM EX6 - ANNEX 1

EXECUTIVE – 6 FEBRUARY 2002

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES – CHARGING SCHEME

SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE – 2 OCTOBER 2001

FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT AND CHARGING SCHEME – CHILDREN LOOKED AFTER

Oxfordshire Social Services Department operates a Charging and Financial Assessment Scheme for the parents of all children who are looked after by the Local Authority. This includes residential and foster care (whether provided directly or by the local authority or through another Agency), respite care and relief care.

The legal basis for these contributions is Schedule, Part III of the Children Act 1989.

The purpose of this scheme is not only the generation of income but to impress upon parents the significance of the step involved in taking a child or young person into the Looked After System, the costs of such a step and the importance of their continuing responsibility to the child or young person wherever they may be living.

Parents will be asked to undergo a financial assessment to determine their ability to meet the cost of the service. A Waiver Scheme will be available for all those parents who wish to have the charges/assessments reviewed.

Who is Liable to Contribute

The parents will be assessed to contribute up to the maximum cost of the service the child / children are receiving.

Where a child is the subject of:

the charge will be disregarded.

Only the natural parents are legally liable for assessment and therefore:

1. Both parents must be assessed
2. Where parents are living apart or are divorced and remarried or are cohabiting the income of the new spouse of cohabitee must not be assessed unless they have parental responsibility.
3. Where an absent parent has already been required to make a maintenance Payment (Child Support Agency) they will not be assessed. The maintenance payment will, however, be taken into account when calculating the income of the parent with whom the child lives.
4. Where both parents are liable to pay contributions but are living apart, each parent will pay up to a maximum of 50% of the cost.
5. Where both parents are liable to pay contributions and are living apart, where one parent is in receipt of Benefits and would not normally contribute, the full amount should be paid by the other parent.

Notification of Charges

Contributions towards the maintenance of children may only be received if the Local Authority has served notice on the parent/s specifying:

1. The sum which is to be contributed.
2. The arrangements for payment.

Therefore, the charge will commence from the third Monday after the first placement of the child/children in any one year. This will allow for information to be obtained from the parent/s, an assessment to be made and formal notification of the charge. For subsequent placements in the same year payment will be from the following Monday.

All correspondence to parents regarding the provision of financial information and notification of charge will be sent by recorded delivery.

When a parent fails to provide financial information to enable a financial assessment to be made they will be charged the full cost of the service.

At the same time as the parent is notified of their assessed charge the Benefits Agency will be notified of each child’s placement so they can take the necessary action regarding the withdrawal of Child Benefit after 8 weeks.

How Charges are Paid

When the charge notification is received a Payment Card will be provided which enables the parents to pay their charge at any Post Office in the U.K. The Post Office will "swipe" the card which will automatically credit to the account the details of the payment. A receipt will always be provided and these should be retained as proof of payment.

Payments can also be made upon receipt of the statement / invoice.

Each month an invoice/statement detailing the weekly charges and payments made will be sent to the parent/s.

In the event of over-payment, refunds will be given.

Level of Charges

The maximum assessed charge possible to any parents will be the full cost to the Social Services Department of providing the service for their child/children.

Charges for the service will vary according to the placement of each child.

Waiver Scheme

A waiver process is available to parents who consider their charge to be too high.

Applications can be made on grounds of financial hardship or for social or care reasons and must provide details as to why the parent considers a waiver to be appropriate. These will be considered by the Assistant Director, Children and Families Services (or his delegated representative), who will take into account the following:

1. Will the charge create financial hardship for you or and/or your family, possibly inhibiting the development of other children in the household?
2. Are there exceptional circumstances which have to be considered?

If after consideration of all of the circumstances, the waiver is totally or partially refused, an appeal may be made to the Director of Social Services.

Appeal Process

Appeals will be considered by the Director of Social Services, who will take in to account the same details as are contained in the waiver application. Additional information, however, may be provided by the applicant if this is relevant to the appeal.

Non-Payment of Charges

The Social Services Department policy regarding non-payment of charges involves taking Court action. Prior to any action being taken, the Recovery Officer will consult with those involved in the case before a recommendation for action/no action is made to the Assistant Director, Children and Family Services who will give final approval to proceed.

Review of Financial Assessments

All parents will be financially assessed upon the child/children’s first placement in any one financial year. Subsequent payments in that financial year will use the original assessment.

Parents must notify the Income and Assessment Section of any changes to their finances if:

1. the child/children are still subject to the Charging Scheme, OR
2. Where they have been re-admitted in the same financial year.

Where there is failure to notify a change which would result in an increase of the assessed charges, the commencement date of the increase will be back-dated to the date when the change occurred.

All assessments will be reviewed annually in March/April of each year.

How the Assessment is Calculated

For liable parents the Financial Assessment Scheme is as follows:

1. Where parent are in receipt of:

Income Support or Income-Based Job Seeker Allowance

Working Family Tax Credit

Disabled Persons Tax Credit

they will contribute the child benefit until such time has commenced to be "looked after". At this point they will not be required to contribute.

2. In all other cases contributions will be calculated using the following formulae:

1. – (B) = C (Assessable Amount)

Examples

Capital Included in Financial Assessment

Capital will be calculated in the same way as Income Support, except there will be no top limit. Therefore, for every £250 or part £250 over £6,000, £1 will be calculated as income. For example:

Capital is deemed to be savings, investments, bonds etc. but does not include the parents’ house.