Issue - meetings

Local authorities have discretionary powers to charge adult recipients of non-residential services.  The decision as to whether or not to charge and how to charge are matters for local choice subject to public law principles and should comply with the Department of Health’s “Fairer Charging” and “Fairer Contributions” guidance. This guidance was updated and issued by the Department of Health on the 29^th October 2012 to take effect immediately. Based on this revision, the department took the opportunity to review its current charging policy and related practice frameworks. Following on from this review, this report recommends that Members agree to adopt a revised policy, namely the Brent Council’s Fairer Contributions Policy (the ‘policy’) and related practice frameworks to ensure that practice in Brent is in line with the Department of Health’s Guidance and is consistently applied across all residents of Brent.

(i)         that approval be given to adopt the Fairer Contributions Policy (attached at Appendix 2 to the report from the Director of Adult Social Services);

(ii)        that agreement be given to the revised practice frameworks included within the policy in relation to:

Appeals Procedure

Arrangement of Funerals

Protection of property

Debt collection protocol

(iii)       that the Deferred Payment policy be adopted;

(iv)       that payments to Carer’s continue to be outside the scope of the Fairer Contributions Policy, as outlined in paragraph 3.3.14 of the Director’s report;

(v)        that approval be given to temporary respite care of up to eight weeks in some circumstances being financially assessed using the Fairer Contributions Policy rather than CRAG;

(vi)       that authority be delegated to the Director for Adult Social Services to nominate named officers to apply to the Probate Registry on behalf of the Council for grants of probate and letters of administration when recovering debts owed in relation to adult social care provision;

(vii)      that agreement be given to an implementation date of 1 March 2013.

Councillor Hirani (Lead Member, Adults and Health) introduced the report from the Director of Adult Social Services which recommended that the council adopt a revised charging policy for adult recipients of non-residential services in accordance with the Department of Health’s updated Fairer Charging and Fairer Contributions guidance issued in October 2012. Based on this revision, a review of the council’s current charging policy and related practice frameworks took place which informed the proposed revised policy, to ensure that practice in Brent was in line with the Department of Health’s Guidance and was consistently applied across all residents of Brent. Councillor Hirani outlined the services that would be affected.

The Executive also had before them an appendix to the report which was not for publication as it contained the following category of exempt information as specified in Schedule 12 of the Local Government (Access to Information Act) 1972: 

Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that approval be given to adopt the Fairer Contributions Policy (attached at Appendix 2 to the report from the Director of Adult Social Services);

(ii)        that agreement be given to the revised practice frameworks included within the policy in relation to: appeals procedure; arrangement of funerals; protection of property and debt collection protocol;

(iii)       that the Deferred Payment policy be adopted;

(iv)       that payments to carer’s continue to be outside the scope of the Fairer Contributions Policy, as outlined in paragraph 3.3.14 of the Director’s report;

(v)        that approval be given to temporary respite care of up to eight weeks in some circumstances being financially assessed using the Fairer Contributions Policy rather than CRAG;

(vi)       that authority be delegated to the Director for Adult Social Services to nominate named officers to apply to the Probate Registry on behalf of the Council for grants of probate and letters of administration when recovering debts owed in relation to adult social care provision;

(vii)      that agreement be given to an implementation date of 1 March 2013.