8 April 2024 to 2025
This policy is approved by Brighton and Hove City Council and is compliant with The Care Act 2014, Care Act Regulations and Guidance. The aim is to provide a consistent and fair framework for assessing and charging all service users following an assessment of individual needs, and individual financial circumstances. The policy applies to all service users equitably.
Section 14 of The Care Act 2014 provides councils with a power to charge for meeting a person’s eligible needs in a single legal framework. Section 17 of The Care Act requires local authorities to undertake an assessment of financial resources. This will determine the amount a person should pay towards the cost of providing for their needs for care and support whether provided to people living in their own home or in a care home.
Some of the assessment rules for residential care differ from non-residential but many are the same.
The policy for non-residential services was originally formulated in December 2002 under consultation with service users and their carers. This has been revised to take account of the requirements of the Care Act 2014 and subsequent amendments.
For the purposes of this policy, an adult is a person aged 18 or over and whose eligible needs are being met through Adult Social Care funding.
In SH v Norfolk County Council [2020] EWHC 3426, the High Court decided that Norfolk’s charging policy unlawfully discriminated against severely disabled people in the enjoyment of their benefits income. SH was of working age and her income comprised the highest rates of (severe) disability benefits. The national charging regulations expressly disregard earnings but do not disregard most disability benefits. Norfolk applied the minimum allowances against SH’s income as prescribed by DHSC, which led to higher charges. It is open to councils to give higher allowances so that people are left with more of their income after charging. The decision of the High Court in this case is not binding on other councils but BHCC has taken the opportunity to review its own Charging Policy in light of it.
BHCC cannot amend the DHSC regulation to disregard income from severe disability benefits. That is a national requirement. However, BHCC does make a more generous allowance to people of working age which is above the minimum allowances prescribed by DHSC. BHCC also provides for a bespoke Disability Related Expenditure Assessment which looks at necessary additional expenditure particularly related to disability and provides for further allowances in appropriate circumstances so that charges are reduced. For these reasons no material changes are considered necessary to the BHCC charging policy.
The services included for this financial assessment policy are:
People in Shared Lives and Supported Accommodation schemes, including Extra Care Housing, in addition to any assessed care and support charge, will also be responsible for rent, food and utilities from their own income, often with Housing Benefit or universal credit.
Services excluded from charges are:
Care and Support for Carers
There is no charge to carers for any services provided directly to them during 2023/24. This policy will be kept under review. Where services are provided directly to the service user to meet their eligible care needs, in order to provide the carer with support, the service user will be charged in accordance with this policy.
From April 2023 the maximum charges for non-residential services are as follows
Home Care provided by the council, including all forms of support at home £32 per hour
(Please note that the charge is double where 2 carers are provided)
The maximum charge for care provided by an independent agency will depend upon the fees set by them. This can vary between providers but is usually less than £27 per hour.
Day Care / Day Activity provided by the council (for any time period) £48 per day
The maximum charge for care provided by an independent agency will depend upon the fees set by them. This can vary between independent day care providers.
Additional Fixed Rate charge for Transport
Any transport costs will not form part of the assessed charge as they substitute for ordinary daily living costs. The charge is £4.90 per return journey.
These charges are payable in addition to assessed contributions.
The financial assessment follows on from the care needs assessment. When care needs have been assessed, details are passed to the Financial Assessment team who may make arrangements for a personal visit to the service user or their representative. In some cases it may be possible to complete an assessment over the telephone or by post or email but information received will be subject to full verification.
Where a person lacks mental capacity to complete a financial assessment form we will contact someone with Power of Attorney for Property and Affairs or a Deputy under the Court of Protection. If there is no person with a formal authority we can discuss the financial assessment with someone who has been given Appointeeship by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) or any other person who is helping to deal with that person’s affairs.
We will:
First we take account of Capital and Savings (including property where applicable)
Then we take account of income
Then we make allowances for various types of expenditure
The difference between the income calculation and the expenditure allowances is the amount charged for care services.
The amount charged will depend upon whether the service user needs a Residential Care Home service or other services while remaining in their own home (known as “non-residential services” or “community services”)
People with over £23,250 in chargeable capital and savings are assessed to pay the full cost of any service from the start date of the service.
People who do not want to disclose full financial information may opt to pay the full cost without going through a financial assessment. This is sometimes known as a light touch assessment.
People who are unable to show that they do not have savings above £23,250 will pay the full cost from the start of the service.
Where care needs are met in a person’s own home, the main residence occupied by the service user will not be taken into account but the value of all other forms of capital and savings will be taken into account, including any other property.
For example:
Where a property is not occupied as a main home, for example where the person has moved out to live with other family members or to live in rented accommodation, the property value will usually be taken into account for charging purposes. This does not apply to a temporary absence from home, for up to 26 weeks where there is a viable plan to return home.
We take into account any form of savings irrespective of where and how they are invested (with the exception of special complex rules regarding capital held in a trust and capital held in investment bonds with Life Assurance).
(Note that, where funds are held in trust, or in a disregarded savings bond, the financial assessment will seek to determine whether any income received should be included or disregarded.
Copies of trust documents, such as Trust Deeds and Will Settlements must be provided for verification. The council’s policy follows the Care Act 2014 Charging Regulations and Statutory Guidance.
The capital limits are currently £23,250 upper limit and £14,250 lower limit with effect from April 2022. Any capital above £14,250 is calculated as “tariff income” which is calculated as £1.00 per week for every complete £250 or part).
People with more than £23,250 held in their own name, or held in their share of joint accounts, or in accounts held by another person on their behalf, will pay the full cost of the care service. This charge applies from the start date of the service.
Where a person is liable for the full cost of care provided at home and chooses to use the Council’s contract for care services there will be a charge of £336 for the initial contract set-up fee and then £105 per year administration charge thereafter. (Note: the level of these fees are reviewed, usually in April each year and are subject to change).
If a person has gifted any savings, investments, income or property to another person, prior to, or whilst receiving any care services, any such amounts may be included in the financial assessment as though they remain in their own possession. This is called “notional capital” or “notional income”.
Each case will depend upon detailed information and will apply where the person ceases to possess assets in order to reduce the level of the contribution towards the cost of their care.
This may also apply where a person has spent down their capital more significantly than would usually be the case, with the purpose of paying less for care services. Consideration will be given to relevant circumstances.
This is sometimes referred to as deprivation of assets and can include transfer of ownership or conversion from one kind of asset to one that would otherwise be disregarded. In all cases, it is up to the person to prove to the council that they no longer possess the income or asset and the council will determine whether deprivation has occurred as part of the financial assessment. Notional capital or income will also be taken into account if a person is not claiming monies to which they are entitled.
Where notional assets are included in the assessment and the resident is unable to pay for their care and support, the council may instead charge the person(s) who received the gifted monies.
Income includes most state benefits means tested and non-means tested, including:
And all other Income: (subject to exceptions in 4.3)
Where another person, who is not a spouse or partner or civil partner or a dependent child, lives in the household of the service user (e.g. relatives, friends, lodgers etc.) the payments they make towards the household expenses will be taken into account as income.
Where no actual payments are made by the person living in the household there will be an assumed income of one third of the basic Income Support allowance as a contribution towards general household living costs.
Income to be disregarded:
Local authorities must ensure that a person’s income is not reduced below a specified level, after charges have been deducted. The allowance rates are set out in the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations and are reviewed by the Department of Health every April.
This allowance is for people who live in their own home and is intended to cover general living expenses including food, utilities, fuel, transport, leisure, insurances, pets and other miscellaneous living costs and includes any debts relating to these expenses.
In this policy single people or people in a couple with no dependent children will be given the following weekly allowance irrespective of the age of the service user.
The National Minimum MIG for a person of working age and in receipt of maximum disability benefits is £171.75 per week. However, our policy provides for an enhanced MIG allowance for people of working age by an extra £43.25 per week to allow for the additional costs of disability.
Where there are dependent children living in a household, the weekly allowance rates for adults differ according to age and other circumstances and the general allowance is calculated in accordance with Government Guidance as follows.
Where the service user is a single person:
Where the service user is a member of a couple the basic weekly allowances are:
Additional weekly allowances apply as follows.
For each dependent child living in the household an additional allowance of £94.90.
For a single person with:
For one member of a couple in receipt of:
(The Personal Allowance for a resident in a care home is £30.15 per week)
Service Users who live in their own homes will be asked to list any additional expenses, extra to the standard allowances explained in 5.1 that arise specifically as a consequence of disability. Examples of such expenditure and verification methods are set out in Appendix A.
Allowances are given for the following housing costs:
No Allowance for rent will be made where the service user lives in another person’s household and there is no legal liability for rent payments.
This is because any charge made for living in the other person’s household will be deemed to be covered by the general living allowance of at least £175 per week. Where the person is not liable for these costs but contributes towards them through a private board agreement or similar, then the service user will be expected to meet this expenditure from their general living allowance.
Method of Calculation for non-residential services:
When assessing one member of a couple, that person will be assessed on their own resources.
Where the total savings and assets of the service user are over £23,250, including any beneficial interest in savings held by their partner or any other person, the full cost of care services will be charged:
Where benefits are paid at the couple rate, the benefit income will be apportioned.
In these cases we will usually presume the service user has an equal share of the income unless it is clear that this is not the case and consideration will be given to both partners’ financial circumstances.
Note: Savings and capital are normally defined as belonging to the person in whose name they are held. However, in some cases there may be a beneficial ownership for a partner, for example, where they have the benefits of ownership, even though the title of the asset is held by someone else or where they are able to make or influence transactions. The origin of the income and capital will be considered and the intentions for future use and such assets may be considered as notional income or capital.
For this reason, financial assessments will usually be completed by reference to all income, savings and expenditure of the household.
The general living allowance will be applied in line with statutory regulations as set out in 5.1.
Where a person’s long term needs are assessed to be met in a care home the financial assessment will determine whether the person must pay the full cost of the care home fees or whether the council will help to pay towards the cost.
Charges for residential care are payable from the date care commences.
If the resident owns any property the net value is usually taken into account when calculating the level of savings and capital. Where that value exceeds £23,250 the resident will be assessed to pay the full cost of the care home fees.
However where the residents’ former home is occupied by a spouse or partner or another relative aged over 60 or disabled, the value will not be taken into account as it will be disregarded in the financial assessment.
More details are available in the Care Act 2014 Guidance at paragraphs 34 and 35.
The Financial Assessment will take into account income, capital and the value of any assets. The charging calculation will take into consideration any mandatory disregards of income, capital and property as defined in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
The Assessment will allow the prescribed minimum personal allowance known as the ‘Personal Expenditure Allowance’ (PEA). This is £30.15 per week. Some people may also qualify for an additional Savings Credit Disregard depending upon the level of their income and state benefits.
Where someone chooses to live in a care home with fees above the council’s set fee rates they must identify a person, known as a third party, to meet the additional cost. This additional cost is often called a ‘top-up’. The local authority has the right to refuse this option if the extra costs cannot be met over a sustained length of time.
The third party must confirm they are able to meet the costs of the top-up for as long as the resident remains in the care home and they will be asked to enter into a formal agreement.
People who own a property may be eligible to defer the cost of part of their care home fees costs. They will be required to agree to a legal charge against the value of their property and this is known as a Deferred Payment Agreement.
There is a setup fee for this arrangement of £639 and there are interest charges on the amount loaned to pay for care home fees. Details of this scheme can be found in the council’s separate Deferred Payment Agreement information sheet.
The council will financially assess and charge people having a temporary stay in a care home from the start date of the service.
A temporary resident is defined as a person whose need to stay in a care home is intended to last for a limited period of time and where there is a plan to return home. The person’s stay should be unlikely to exceed 52 weeks, or in exceptional circumstances, unlikely to substantially exceed 52 weeks.
Where a person’s stay is intended to be permanent, but circumstances change and the stay is temporary, the council will usually review the assessment on the basis of a temporary stay but this may depend upon the length of time the person has been resident in the care home.
The financial assessment for a temporary stay in a care home accounts for income and capital in the same way as for permanent residential care with the following exceptions
The value of the person’s main or only home will be disregarded where the resident intends to return and there is a plan to return home.
The value of the following will be disregarded:
Reviews will be conducted in the following circumstances:
Charges will usually date from the start of the service.
Backdated charges apply where additional benefits have been successfully claimed. People will be advised of this policy in writing and will be required to pay the additional charge from the date they are found to be eligible for the benefit. This may include a period of backdated payment from the DWP.
Where people have not provided correct financial information, backdated assessments and charges will usually apply from the start of the service or from the date any additional assets were acquired. This may include gifted assets.
Sometimes, for residential care, we are unable to establish the extent of a person’s income in a timely manner but as the resident is receiving full care and board, the charge will be backdated once the information is available to calculate the charge.
Where it is found, at any time, that a person still has or had, over £23,250 the full cost will be backdated to the start date of the service.
The outcome of the financial assessment and charge information will be confirmed in writing.
This might provide a provisional charge pending the verification of:
If all financial information is complete the notification will provide details of the final assessment.
Where the person has capital over £23,250 and is therefore assessed to pay the full cost for care services, they will pay the agency direct, upon receipt of an invoice from the care agency or by standing order or other method agreed with the agency. If the service user fails to pay the provider, further action may be taken.
Where the home care service is provided by an independent agency and the person does not have to pay the full cost but has been assessed to pay a contribution, the council will usually invoice the service user, monthly in arrears.
Where a person is resident in a care home, they will be asked to agree to make payment of their contribution directly to the care home.
Where the service is provided directly by the Council the service user will receive an invoice, monthly in arrears, from the council’s Central Collections Team.
Where the service user receives Direct Payments in order to purchase their own care services, they will be required to pay their contribution into their Direct Payments account. The preferred method is for the service user to set up a standing order from their personal bank account into the Direct Payments account.
Where a contribution has been assessed, the service user must pay this into the account first, to cover the first part of the care costs, and the council will pay the remainder of the agreed eligible care costs into the account on a 4 weekly basis. Failure to pay the contribution into the account may lead to further legal action.
Where a person fails to pay the amount they have been assessed to pay for their care and support, the Care Act 2014 provides the council with powers to recover money owed.
Action for recovery of debt extends to the service user and their representative, where they have misrepresented or have failed to disclose (whether fraudulently or otherwise), information relevant to the financial assessment
The council will only proceed with court action where alternatives have been exhausted. Any proceedings will usually go through the County Court. The council will deal with each case of debt on an individual basis and all circumstances will be carefully considered.
Service users have the right to ask the council for a review of the assessed charge if they consider it to be unreasonable.
The appeal will involve the following checks that:
The Appeal Decision is initially made by the Head of Financial Assessments to ensure consistency and equity with other service users and provides an information base of exceptional decisions. The appeal should be completed within 4 weeks of referral including written notification of the outcome. If the service user is still dissatisfied they can use the complaints procedure.
The council is committed to the broad principles of social justice and is opposed to any form of discrimination. It embraces best practice in order to secure equality of both treatment and outcome. The council is committed to ensuring that no one is treated in any way less favourably on the grounds of personal differences such as age, race, ethnicity, mobility of lifestyle, religion, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental impairment, caring responsibilities and political or personal beliefs.
Under section 2 of the Care Act 2014 The Local Authority has a duty to provide prevention services to prevent, delay or reduce needs when it believes that such prevention services will contribute towards the prevention or delay of the need for Care and Support or reduce such needs.
Care Act Guidance:
2.55 Preventative services, like other forms of care and support, are not always provided free, and charging for some services is vital to ensure affordability. The Care and Support (Preventing Needs for Care and Support) Regulations 2014 continue to allow local authorities to make a charge for the provision of certain preventative services, facilities or resources.
2.58 When charging for any type of preventative support, local authorities should take reasonable steps to ensure that any charge is affordable for the person concerned. This does not need to follow the method of the financial assessment used for mainstream charging purposes; and the use of such a process is likely to be disproportionate.
2.59 However, local authorities should consider adopting a more proportionate or ‘light-touch’ approach which ensures that charges are only paid by those who can afford to do so.
Preventive services can cover a number of miscellaneous costs. This may include one-off deep cleans, transport and other preventive services that are not otherwise eligible under The Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014.
In principle, preventive services should be funded by the person themselves direct to the provider. However, where there is an urgency the council can fund the service and then invoice the person for the full amount for reimbursement. The person can make arrangements to repay the council by instalments by negotiating with the council’s corporate collections team.
If it is considered essential to prevent further care costs and if the person is not able to pay for the service then the council can undertake a “hardship assessment” and will fund the service in full where the person
Protecting property of adults being cared for away from home.
Care Act Guidance:
10.88 Local authorities must take all reasonable steps to protect the moveable property of an adult with care and support needs who is being cared for away from home, in a hospital or in accommodation such as a care home, and who cannot arrange to protect their property themselves; this could include their pets as well as their personal property (for example, private possessions and furniture). Local authorities must act where it believes that if it does not take action there is a risk of moveable property being lost or damaged.
10.89 For example, protecting property may include arranging for pets to be looked after when securing premises for someone who is having their care and support needs provided away from home in a care home or hospital, and who has not been able to make other arrangements for the care of their home or pets.
10.94 This duty on the local authority lasts until the adult in question returns home or makes their own arrangements for the protection of property or until there is no other danger of loss or damage to property; whichever happens first. Often a one off event is required such as the re-homing of pets or ensuring that the property is secured. However, if costs are incurred or if there are ongoing costs the local authority can recover any reasonable expenses they incur in protecting property under this duty from the adult whose property they are protecting.
HASC should not usually incur actual costs for protection of property as the person can make the payments direct to the provider themselves. However, there may be exceptional circumstances requiring the council to pay and claim full reimbursement from the person. The council will usually issue an invoice for the costs incurred and can consider giving the person time to reimburse the council in instalments.
If it is considered essential to prevent loss or damage to moveable property and if the person is not able to pay for the service then HASC can undertake a “hardship assessment” and will fund the service in full where people:
ADASS Guidance:
GUIDANCE AND PRINCIPLES FOR AFTER CARE SERVICES UNDER SECTION 117
The following services will not be provided under Section 117:
R (Afework) v LB Camden [2013] EWHC 1637 (Admin), [2013] MHLO 51
However, note that where someone is admitted to hospital, the Local Authority must take reasonable steps under s47 of the Care Act 2014 to prevent or mitigate the loss or damage to moveable property.
The charging policy described above will be applicable in these circumstances.