Will the Council pay? – What is an Adult Social Care needs and financial assessment Personal Budgets and Care Plans explained.
Social Care services are provided by the Local Authority and help you if you need practical support because of illness or disability and/or care for someone. You can arrange your own care and support without the Council being involved but this may mean that they do not make a financial contribution and you may be missing out on FREE services.
Types of social care and support may include:
- care and support at home
- hot meals
- Laundry
- Aids and Adaptations to the home
- Equipment and house hold gadgets
- personal alarms and home security systems
- access to different types of housing, such as sheltered housing and care homes
Social Care Assessment
You can arrange care and support privately yourself but if you want the council to arrange or pay towards your care a needs assessment will be needed.
The needs assessment will help to form a ‘Care Plan’ that tells you what type of care will meet your eligible need and how much it would cost the Local Authority (Personal Budget) if they are required to or choose to arrange the care and support needed.
Find your Local Authority to request a Care Needs assessment
The Local Authority can do an assessment of your care needs (FREE) and are often able to help with other services such prevention and support services that could include help with the garden, getting a pendant alarm or an advocate who may be able to do things like organise a tradesman, write a letter or ring a utility company…..
Find your Local Authority to request a Carers assessment
This is different to a care needs assessment as it looks at what care and support is being provided, by who and what support they may need to enable them to continue. It is especially valuable if for any reason the carer isn’t able to provide this whether temporarily for example a hospital stay or because you may need more help that they can manage.
Care Act 2014 ‘Eligibility’ criteria
Criteria
Significant impact
Wellbeing
Financial Assessment
Where a Local Authority decides to make a charge a Local Authority must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) regulations and have regard to the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
Financial Assessment – common elements for care at home and care in a care or nursing home
The following rules apply to financial assessment for both residential care and care at home:
- Residents with over £23,250 savings/capital will meet the full costs of their care. They are considered able to pay for their own care in full.
- Residents with between £14,250 and £23,250 will contribute from their savings/capital as a tariff income of £1.00 for every £250 or part of, a contribution from income will also be assessed
- Residents with Savings/Capital below £14,250 will not contribute from capital, but a contribution from income will be assessed.
Care at home
Care in a Care/Nursing home
Most income will be assessed (disregards may apply including half of an occupational pension given to a spouse). You will retain a Personal Expenses Allowance of £24.90 per week that cannot be put towards the cost of care. This may increase (up to £144 per week) if a Deferred Payment Agreement is in place
Remember it is an individual’s care need being assessed and so an individual’s ability to contribute towards the cost that will be financially assessed, any joint savings will be halved a financial assessment and there are property, income and capital disregards to consider.
Deliberate Deprivation
Care and Support Statutory Guidance Annex E
If you give away an asset or do not claim an income or benefit entitlement available to you and the Local Authority and/or DWP decide that this was done with a deliberate intention to avoid paying for your care/ accommodation costs or to access a benefit entitlement, then they may treat you as still owning or having it and if so the financial assessment will include the amount as notional income/capital.
If you would like some help with will the Council pay for care? Please Get In Touch.
Care Navigators
