This factsheet looks at local authority charging policies for community care (home care) services in:
The power of local authorities to make reasonable charges for community care is contained within section 17 of the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983. Chargeable services include day (eg day centres) and domiciliary (ie services provided at home) services for disabled, elderly, mothers and young children. If you are a carer you may be charged for services you receive direct.
There is no definition of reasonable and in the past local authority charging policies varied considerably. There is now guidance aimed at standardising these policies. These are:
The guidance is detailed and needs to be read carefully. Basically the intention is to ensure that local authorities do not overcharge for services and leave the service user with at least the equivalent of their income support assessment plus 25%. However if you are in receipt of income support any severe disability premium, paid as part of this may be taken into account as part of your income.
If the services are for you any assessment should only take account of your income, not that of your partner if you have one. Jointly held income or savings may be an exception.
If you are in receipt of disability living allowance mobility component this cannot, by law, be taken into account for charges. Disability living allowance care component can be taken into account but a local authority is not allowed to count an award for night needs where they are only providing day time care (and vice versa).
Your earnings should be ignored in any assessment.
You cannot be charged for services provided by the NHS, such as those provided by a district nurse. Community equipment is also free, and minor adaptations which you or your carer are assessed as needing will be provided free by social services, as long as the cost is less than £1,000. Free-standing equipment does not have a £1,000 cap, although some local authorities have tried to cap equipment at £1,000. Social services have the discretion to charge for minor adaptations costing over £1,000. In some cases you may be able to get a disabled facilities grant .
In Northern Ireland if you are 75 or over you are not charged for your home help service. The charges for people under 75 are explained in circular HSS (SS) 1/80, which has been regularly amended. This circular lays down a charging procedure based on allocated times for various tasks.
If you live in Scotland and are age 65 or over you will not be charged for personal care. Personal care is defined in section 2(28) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 as...
"care which relates to the day to day physical tasks and needs of the person cared for (as for example, but without prejudice to that generality, to eating and washing) and to mental processes related to those tasks and needs (as for example, but without prejudice to that generality, to remembering to eat and wash); and "personal support" means counselling, or other help, provided as part of a planned programme of care."
The amount of free care you will receive is determined by a local authority assessment and there is no set limit to the amount they can provide. This care can be provided by the local authority or alternatively you can ask for a direct payment.
Your benefits, including attendance allowance or disability living allowance will not be affected.
Examples of free personal care are outlined in the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 and includes help with:
The definition of free personal care covers physical assistance with care and help with the mental processes related to that care – eg helping someone to remember to wash.
You may still be charged for non-personal care such as day care, lunch clubs, meals on wheels, community alarms and help with shopping and housework. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) has produced guidance on these charges:
Guidance on charging for domiciliary care is contained within CCD 5/2004 and CCD 12/2004.
Guidance on community care available in Scotland is at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care (including guidance on free personal and nursing care in Scotland).
Each local authority has a different charging policy for services, so charges can vary depending on where you live. Your carer should not have to pay for services he or she is assessed as needing, as these services are to help care for you.
Assessment of what you have to pay is based on what you can afford, taking into account your income and what you need to meet everyday costs and any extra costs because of disability. If your income is low enough the social work department will pay some or all of the costs.
Similar fairer charging guidance has been issued for Wales as for England except the fairer charging assessment should leave the service user with the equivalent of their income support assessment plus 35%.
You can find out more information about community care charging in Disability Alliance's Disability Rights Handbook at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh33.htm.
You can obtain copies of our factsheets, or order our publications, by contacting Disability Alliance on 020 7247 8776 (voice and minicom) or by fax on 020 7247 8765.
April 2008
