Vulnerable ‘left traumatised’ by huge rise in care charges
County council apologises for way process was handled
A West Sussex councillor has apologised for the ‘anxiety and stress’ endured by people who saw their social care charges skyrocket last year.
There was an outcry after a county council review of the financial assessment process for those receiving adult social care left some in debt and others giving up on support they could no longer afford.
During a meeting of the Health and Adult Social Care (HASC) scrutiny committee last month, cabinet member Amanda Jupp said: “I am sorry that some people were put under pressure and anxiety and stress by the process.
“The original financial assessment process was outsourcedand when we brought it back in-house, we immediately saw the problems and we acted upon it immediately.”
Care charges are paid for the use of services either independently or in a family home, such as attending a day centre or help with respite care.
The charges and the services vary from person to person.
The problems started in 2018/19 when, as part of the adults’ services mediumterm financial savings plan, the council agreed to reduce the level of Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) to the lowest allowed by law.
The guarantee is required under the Care Act 2014 to ensure that those receiving care and support have enough money to cover day-to-day living costs.
It is used as part of the financial assessment and the decision to reduce it meant all customers had to be reassessed.
Many were left with backdated bills for their care as well as massive rises in the payments they needed to make.
A report to HASC said that, of the 3,750 adults assessed who receive non-residential care, around 750 issues or appeals were raised – 20 per cent of the cohort.
Mrs Jupp told the meeting that anyone who had contacted her or council officers had been ‘immediately supported and helped’, with some receiving re-assessments.
A number of improvements and priorities have also been put in place. The committee also accepted a number of recommendations from consumer champion Healthwatch, which has provided input into what improvements are needed.
Spokesman Katrina Broadhill shared the experiences of some service users, saying the financial assessment had been described as ‘a process that makes [people] beg and disempowers them’.
Officers said around £60million of income was generated from charging people for care, but the MIG is expected to rise by inflation ahead of 2022/23.
Lib Dem Kate O’Kelly described the assessment process and what followed as ‘a shameful episode’, while after the meeting a spokesman for Warrior Carers – a group of parents and carers set up to share support and information – described the improvement programme as ‘vague’ and ‘inadequate’. They called on the county council to introduce a moratorium on any increase in charges ‘until disabled people in the county have a charging regime that is fit for purpose’.
They added: “Many vulnerable disabled residents, already struggling on some of the lowest benefit incomes in Europe, were left traumatised by massive care charge increases imposed on them out of the blue.”