Residents in Hillingdon receiving social care may be set to pay hundreds more per year under new plans. Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet voted in favour of opening a consultation on the proposals on Thursday night (January 9).
The proposal will only affect so called ‘self-funders’ – those with over £23,250 in capital and/or income. Anyone below this threshold would not be affected by the new proposals should they come into force.
This threshold can be met from income, savings and investments, benefits, any property you own, and any other regular income you receive. The proposed charges can be broken down into two parts. First, there will be a new ‘set-up fee’. This will be an initial fee payable at the start of any social care services with the council. This £470 one-off payment would cover services such as identifying care providers, negotiating rates, and setting up contracts.
Following the one-off payment, those ‘self funders’ could be billed an extra £255 per year if the policy is enforced. This would come under the second part of the proposal, which is an annual administration fee.
This would cover paying for the care providers, services such as dealing with queries relating to residents services, monitoring residents services to ensure they are receiving the agreed support from providers, and invoicing the resident for the cost of their care, council admin fees and collection of money from the resident.
Hillingdon Civic Centre
(Image: Philip James Lynch/LDRS)
People may receive social care support due to mental health problems or learning or physical disabilities. Social care support can include personal in-house care, supported accommodation, and support managing daily tasks.
Councillor Jane Palmer told the Cabinet: “As a council that has recently had our social care assessed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as one of the best in the country with a good rating, this is part of ensuring we continue to be transparent and fair to our residents.”
The council has seen the cost of care increase significantly over the last few years. Whilst income from social care bills has increased alongside that, social care debt owed to the council has grown at a much faster rate.
There are believed to be many factors contributing to the debt issues, but the local authority believe a new up-to-date policy will ensure residents ‘fully understand their contribution obligations’ and ‘options for claiming benefits which will maximise collection rate’.
It is estimated that the policy would generate £72,000 per year for the council. London Borough of Hillingdon believe this will both reduce the amount of client debt and prevent a further build up of debt in the future. It is currently unclear when the consultation will begin, however the council’s view is to see ‘implementation by April’.
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