Q – “why am i paying the same charge for my care even though the amount of hours help i get a week have been cut?” – (from ‘JM’)
A – although this may seem counter intuitive – the amount a person must pay towards their care is not directly related to the amount of care they receive. Instead, the amount to be paid is decided by a financial assessment (a means test) which works out how much of a person’s income (which may mean benefits) they can afford to pay towards any level of care they are or have been assessed as needing to receive. This means that if you are receiving 10 or 50 hours per week help, the charge may remain the same and if it alters, that alteration will usually be related to a change in income – not a change in support.
Statute: Care Act 2014 – s14-17 – charging and assessing financial resources
Guidance: Care and support statutory guidance – s8 – charging and financial assessment
Helpful resources: inclusion london scrap care charges – template letters
audio version of this post:
PURE Adult Social Care 