Cumbria County County's cabinet has today reaffirmed its view that the introduction of day care charges is still the fairest way to provide more independence and choice for service users but is keen to hear more views before the change is implemented in the autumn.
In February this year, councillors agreed to introduce a new £10 charge for day care services (£5 per session) which will be means-tested with only those who can afford to contribute, asked to contribute.
This will result in about 30 per cent of users paying nothing, 50 per cent paying a portion and 20 per cent paying the full charge.
The new charge has been set at the lower end of what service users are expected to pay in other parts of England. In Cheshire, day care users can expect to pay £20 for day care while in Gloucestershire, the charge is £31.45 a day.
The county council has made a commitment to plough any extra money raised through the new charge back into services which give people more choice and independence. These include:
* An expansion in night time home care services enabling more carers to get a night's rest;
* Extra investment in extra-care housing which provides people with their own front-door and the sort of 24-hour on-site care and support previously only available in residential homes;
* Investment in a new Home from Hospital scheme to ensure that when people leave hospital they have a warm home and food to eat as well as someone to care for them.
* The purchase of an additional thirty nursing home beds in Barrow so that people who need nursing care can, for the first time, receive that care in their own town.
Following the development of these new schemes and the work that has been done with charities like Age Concern on the implementation of the new charge, councillors have today announced that carer organisations and providers will be asked for any additional views which county councillors will be able to take into account before considering the issue again at their meeting in September. If reaffirmed, it is planned to introduce the charge the following month.
The decision to introduce day care charges has not been without its critics and later this year, a legal challenge supported by Age Concern is expected to be examined under the judicial review process.
The county council will be mounting a vigorous defence of its decision to introduce the new charge in line with many other authorities.
The county council is confident it can present a robust case which will show that it has acted properly in introducing a fee for day care, which many other local authorities already charge.
Councillor Oliver Pearson, cabinet member responsible for Adult Social Care and Healthy Communities, said: "The county council has invested an extra £4.4 million in services this year which provide people with more independence and choice.
"Since announcing plans to introduce a new charge for day care, the council has listened to the views of carer organisations and providers on how it should be applied and we now want to give these groups the chance to put forward any additional views."
"As a result, we will be writing to ask for feedback to be submitted before 31 August when it will be collated for a full meeting of the county council to consider in September. If confirmed, the charge is due to come into effect in October."
ENDS
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