1. Charging and financial assessment Care Act 2014

2. Introduction  The local authority may charge people for care and support services, and for arranging them, but some services must be free of charge  The local authority must carry out a financial assessment if it is going to charge for services, but a ‘light touch’ financial assessment may be appropriate in some circumstances  Charges are subject to limits, which depend on whether someone is receiving care in a care home, their own home, or another setting  Top-up fees can be charged if a person chooses a more expensive residential care option  Debts may continue to be recovered under the new legal framework 2

3. Financial assessment  In a financial assessment, both capital and income must be assessed, which will be either disregarded, partially disregarded or included  Some capital and income must be disregarded and local authorities have discretion to disregard assets in some other circumstances. For example:  the value of a person’s main or only home must be disregarded where they are receiving care in a setting that is not a care home  to help encourage people to remain in or take up employment earnings from current employment must be disregarded 3

4. ‘Light-touch’ financial assessments  A local authority may choose a ‘light touch financial assessment’ for instance where: a)The person has significant financial resources, and does not wish to undergo a full financial assessment for personal reasons b)There is a small or nominal charge for a particular service, and carrying out a financial assessment would be disproportionate c)An individual is in receipt of certain benefits  If the authority chooses to do so the person must be informed that they have the right to request a full financial assessment should they so wish 4

5. Information and advice  Accessible information and advice, including:  Independent financial information and advice  Top-ups  Deferred payment agreements  Complaints  The person must be given a written record of the financial assessment which includes an explanation of how it has been carried out and what the charge will be (if any)  The local authority must establish whether the person has the capacity to take part in the care plan and the information disclosure involved in financial assessment 5

6. What charges can be made?  How much a person can be charged will depend on whether a person is in a care home or receiving care and support in another setting  Local authorities may charge a carer for support, but they must not charge for ‘replacement’ care and support provided directly to the person the carer supports  Charges should be reasonable and not leave people with less than a specified amount of income  A person can choose a more expensive residential care setting, through a ‘top-up’ from a third party or the resident  A local authority must not charge more than the cost that it incurs in meeting the assessed needs of the person 6

7. Recovery of debts 7  The existing powers under S22 of HASSASSA 1983 will no longer apply from 1 April 2015  From then on local authorities must use the provisions under S69 of the Care Act:  Must offer a DPA whenever possible  Ultimately an authority has powers to recover money through the county court  Principles of the approach to debt recovery:  Court action should be the last resort  The local authority should act reasonably  Affordable repayments  Debts and repayments discussed with the person