Agenda item

To approve amendments to the Sandwell Contributions Policy with effect from 1 January 2023 to reflect recommendations made by the Director of Adult Social Care and the Director of Finance following public consultation.

Agreed:-

(1)     that Cabinet approve that the Sandwell Contributions Policy be amended (as shown in Appendix C) with effect from 1st January 2023 to reflect the following changes which are recommended by the Director of Adult Social Care and the Director of Finance after public consultation (as detailed in Appendix A):

(2)     that Cabinet approve the Joint financial assessment of couples: end the practice of offering a joint assessment of couples, as the Care Act no longer permits this, by reassessing all existing cases for January 2023 and applying transitional protection to minimise the impact as appropriate;

(3)     that Cabinet approve Short-term (respite) care charges: move to basing contributions to the cost of respite care on a financially assessed contribution based on residential regulations with effect from 1st January 2023. In order to mitigate the impact of this change for people with disabilities where respite costs can be very high, the contribution will be based on the actual cost of care up to a maximum of the Council’s guideline rate for nursing care for older people (currently £687.36 per week);

(4)     that Cabinet approve the New contributions model and adopt Model 2 as the method for calculating non-residential contributions, (as detailed in Appendix A), which reduces the existing “Sandwell Allowance” which people are allowed to retain from 53% of their disposable income to 20%, and increases council income by an estimated £830,000 compared with what current income is expected to be, and by an estimated £1,609,000 compared with the expected income budget for 2023/24 which, based on current income trends, is set at a more prudent level. There are, however, some risks associated with these figures, as detailed in section 6 below and it is not recommended that the full potential income figure is incorporated into financial plans, at least initially;

(5)     that Council approve the Disability Related Expenditure (DRE): amending the method of allowing people’s DRE costs to allow the full sum of any such costs against income, up to the total of their disability benefits (currently we only make allowance for DRE costs that exceed the 53% Sandwell Allowance). In addition, to introduce a lump sum banded DRE allowance to be offset against assessed income for any non-residential client who receives a standard or higher rate of DWP disability benefit (although if they have higher expenses, they can still claim for those). The allowance for higher rate of DWP disability benefit has been increased to £10 (it was £9 in the consultation) to reflect the increases in costs people are already facing;

(6)     that Cabinet approve Transitional protection: introducing a process that will limit changes in a person’s contributions solely attributable to changes in policy (such as those outlined in this paper) to a maximum sum of £30 a week for a period of up to three years, if that person faces a significantly adverse impact. The calculation will take account of inflationary changes to people’s income and allowances, but not other changes;

(7)     that Cabinet note that the Chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board has agreed to make an exception to scrutiny call in of this matter so that implementation can commence immediately after Cabinet.

Approval was sought to amend the Sandwell Contributions Policy with effect from 1 January 2023.

The Vice-Chair of the Economy, Skills, Transport and Environment Scrutiny Board asked for clarification on why the consultation responses were low and if any further steps could be taken going forward to improve this.

In response, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources clarified that financial contributions were a fairly complex area to explain and get people interested in. A wide range of media was used to try and communicate the message including the use of partner and voluntary organisations.

A further question was received from the Chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board. Details were requested on whether the Welfare Rights team had been working with users to maximise their benefits.

It was confirmed that during the financial assessment, the contributions staff checked benefit information with the client. Where it was felt that additional benefit entitlement exists, with the client’s agreement, they refer the client to Welfare Rights so that support could be given.

Reasons for recommendations

The Director of Adult Social Care and the Director of Finance were authorised by Cabinet on 18 May 2022 to implement a range of changes in policy and practice, and to enter consultation with users of services on further key policy changes and three proposed contribution models. The key policy changes and three models aim to generate additional income which will assist the Council to ensure that it can continue to provide services to the most vulnerable within cash limited resources. The policy changes also reflect recent case law and Local Government Ombudsman findings to be fairer and comply with equalities expectations.

Alternative options considered

The Council must have a Contributions Policy as it has discretion over aspects of both Residential and Non-Residential Contributions.

Agreed:-

(1)          that approval be given to amend the Sandwell Contributions Policy as shown in Appendix C, as now submitted, with effect from 1 January 2023 to reflect the following changes which are recommended by the Director of Adult Social Care and the Director of Finance after public consultation (as detailed in Appendix A):

·       the Joint financial assessment of couples: end the practice of offering a joint assessment of couples, as the Care Act no longer permits this, by reassessing all existing cases for January 2023 and applying transitional protection to minimise the impact as appropriate;

·      Short-term (respite) care charges: move to basing contributions to the cost of respite care on a financially assessed contribution based on residential regulations with effect from 1st January 2023,in order to mitigate the impact of this change for people with disabilities where respite costs can be very high, the contribution will be based on the actual cost of care up to a maximum of the Council’s guideline rate for nursing care for older people (currently £687.36 per week);

·      the New contributions model and adopt Model 2 as the method for calculating non-residential contributions, (as detailed in Appendix A), which reduces the existing “Sandwell Allowance” which people are allowed to retain from 53% of their disposable income to 20%, and increases council income by an estimated £830,000 compared with what current income is expected to be, and by an estimated £1,609,000 compared with the expected income budget for 2023/24 which, based on current income trends, is set at a more prudent level. There are, however, some risks associated with these figures, as detailed in section 6 below and it is not recommended that the full potential income figure is incorporated into financial plans, at least initially;

·      the Disability Related Expenditure (DRE): amending the method of allowing people’s DRE costs to allow the full sum of any such costs against income, up to the total of their disability benefits (currently we only make allowance for DRE costs that exceed the 53% Sandwell Allowance). In addition, to introduce a lump sum banded DRE allowance to be offset against assessed income for any non-residential client who receives a standard or higher rate of DWP disability benefit (although if they have higher expenses, they can still claim for those). The allowance for higher rate of DWP disability benefit has been increased to £10 (it was £9 in the consultation) to reflect the increases in costs people are already facing;

·      Transitional protection: introducing a process that will limit changes in a person’s contributions solely attributable to changes in policy (such as those outlined in this paper) to a maximum sum of £30 a week for a period of up to three years, if that person faces a significantly adverse impact. The calculation will take account of inflationary changes to people’s income and allowances, but not other changes.