The Financial Assessment
The Council will seek to complete a financial assessment to determine how much a person should contribute towards the cost of providing their care and support. They will then pay whichever is the lesser amount of either the full cost of the care they require to meet their needs, or their maximum assessed contribution.
Each person will be assessed on their own finances which will determine how much they will be expected to contribute towards the cost of the care they receive. It is the individuals responsibility to provide all of the information required to complete the financial assessment.
If the person does not want to undergo a financial assessment or refuses to cooperate with the assessment process they will be expected to pay for the full cost of their care.
In carrying out a financial assessment, the council will take into account all relevant income and capital that is not required to be disregarded. Depending on the type of assessment being completed, appropriate allowances will be made for personal expenses, certain household costs and disability related expenditure.
Capital Limits
The value and treatment of capital will be based on the guidelines set by the Department of Health and until further notice the following thresholds apply to assessments made for both residential and non-residential care:
- up to £14,250 - we will not take account of an individuals savings
- between £14,250 and £23,250 - we will assume that for every £250 in excess of £14,250 an individual is able to contribute £1.00 per week from capital
- above £23,250 - we will ask the individual to pay the full cost of their care
Individuals who have savings under the minimum limit will still be expected to undergo a financial assessment of their income and outgoings to determine if they are required to make a contribution towards the cost of their care.
Deprivation of capital
If an individual has deliberately deprived themselves of capital or an asset in order to reduce their contribution or to avoid paying for care, it will be treated as deprivation of funds and the assessment will be calculated as if they still owned the capital or asset.
Arrangement Fees
People with eligible needs, who have financial assets above £23,250 and ask the council to arrange their non-residential care services will be charged an arrangement fee. This fee takes into account the cost of negotiating and/or managing the contract with a provider and covers the administration costs the Council incurs.
The fee will consist of an initial one-off payment for setting up the care arrangement and then an ongoing monthly fee to cover costs such as invoicing.
Trust funds and Personal Injury Awards
If capital is held in trust or by the Court as a result of a personal injury compensation award specifically paid for care needs, then this capital will be disregarded for financial assessment purposes. However, any income derived from the capital will be considered as part of the financial assessment.
The council will also take into account any personal injury awards that are not held in Trust once a 52-week disregard period from the time they are awarded has expired.
Changes in an individuals financial circumstances
Individuals are responsible for notifying the Council of any changes in their financial circumstances which may affect their financial assessment. Examples may include receiving a lump sum in savings or an increase in benefits or a new benefit award. Any changes to contributions will normally be backdated to the actual date their circumstances changed.
The council reserves the right to review financial assessments at any point. This may require individuals to provide new or additional information and evidence where necessary. Where individuals fail to provide information following a request, contributions will be recalculated to the maximum level from the date of the first written request.
Where appropriate the council will complete financial reassessments if it becomes aware of changes to benefit amounts or rules. This may include annual increases to benefit payments such as State Retirement Pension, Income Support, Attendance Allowance (AA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and other types of income such as private pensions.
Financial contributions
The council will aim to complete financial assessments as soon as possible and will expect the person to cooperate in that process.
People will be charged based on the actual cost incurred by the council in providing those services and will be expected to contribute from the date they begin receiving a chargeable service.
The Council will not invoice for contributions that are below £5.00 per week as it is not cost effective to do so.