Non Residential Care
Charging Policy
2013-2014
RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL
SOCIAL WORK
CARE AT HOME CHARGING POLICY
Introduction
Clients may be charged for certain elements of Renfrewshire Council’s Care at
Home Services. These apply whether the service is provided by the in house service
or is purchased from an external provider. The charging policy operated by the
Council complies with Scottish Government guidance and the COSLA framework.
To assess a client’s ability to pay for the services they receive, financial
assessments are completed for all clients, other than those highlighted below.
Financial assessments take into account the type of service(s) which clients receive
as some services are not chargeable. This financial assessment includes a review of
income and savings to ensure all benefits due are in payment. If clients have
problems relating to debt or are not receiving their maximum benefits they are
advised to contact the Advice Works team. If the client agrees, contact will be made
on their behalf.
Services for which charges do not apply
Charges are not made for:

Criminal justice social work services,

People with mental health problems who are subject to community care or
supervision orders or who are subject to a criminal court order (note; if a client
under section 18 mental health detention is on leave of absence and benefits are
being accessed a financial assessment should be carried out. Where clients are
unable to access funds due to issues of capacity the client is still liable to pay a
charge which will be recovered, including any backdated amounts, when the
client is able to access their funds).

Children in need, including: children subject to statutory and voluntary
supervision arrangements, and, children in families who are involved with social
work under section 12 or 22.
Charges are not made for advice or guidance on community care services, for
assessment of needs, or for care management.
Services which are provided free of charge
1. Home Care services on discharge from hospital
In response to the recommendations from the Royal Commission on Long Term
Care for the Elderly, the Scottish Government introduced free home care for people
aged 65 and over who have been discharged from hospital for a period up to 4
weeks. This applies to clients admitted for treatment, who have had a minimum 24
hour stay and who have been assessed as requiring support upon discharge.
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Provision of free home care applies to admission to and discharges from hospitals
and hospices but does not apply to any stay for respite care. The free 4 weeks
applies each time a person is discharged from hospital. Relief from charging should
not apply to discharges following admission on a frequent or regular basis as part of
ongoing care arrangements, respite and ongoing episodic treatment.
2. Free Personal and Nursing Care
The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 introduced free nursing and
personal care for people in Scotland aged 65 and over. Services which do not fall
into the category of “personal care” continue to be chargeable.
Information on the services classified as personal care is detailed at Appendix 1.
This appendix also includes Renfrewshire Council’s definition of tasks classified as
domestic and housing support.
Please note:

Eligibility for Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance is not affected
by Free Personal Care provided in clients own home.

Free Personal Care does not depend on income or savings

All Nursing Care provided by the NHS in clients own homes is free of charge.
Services which are chargeable
3. Housing Support Services
Renfrewshire Council’s Care at Home Charging policy relates to all housing support
services.
Prior to 10 April 2006 clients in receipt of housing benefit did not make a contribution
towards the cost of services classified as housing support. For these clients
charging for housing support services was phased in from April 2006. From 1 April
2008 all elements of housing support services have been included as chargeable
services for all clients. This change was implemented in accordance with COSLA
guidelines and to ensure that a single charging framework applied for all care at
home services.
Charging for housing support services is not applied in certain circumstances.
These are mainly in relation to clients receiving designated short term services e.g.
Women's Aid, Blue Triangle, and Paisley Threads. The majority of services which
fall into this category are managed centrally.
Charging for housing support services within sheltered housing commenced in
January 2008. The charging policy was fully implemented with effect from 1 April
2008
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Housing Support Services are charged for by Renfrewshire Council who issue
invoices to clients every 4 weeks.
Clients whose net income, after housing costs are deducted, is below a set level or
“threshold” are not charged for any services they receive.
Separate threshold levels are in place for clients under and over 60 years old.
Thresholds are linked to pension credits for those over 60 years old.
For those under 60 years old their income support personal allowance, plus any
disability premium is included.
In both cases a “buffer” of 16.5% is added. Inclusion of the buffer of 16.5% means
that a savings credit disregard is not applied in care at home financial assessments.
The current income thresholds are detailed at Appendix 2.
Housing Support Charges are payable from the date the client takes up residence in
the complex and not from the date they sign for their tenancy.
The charge for any 4 week period should be adjusted to take account of any breaks
in service i.e. hospital admission or clients on holiday.
4. Independent Living Fund (ILF)
As part of a client’s application for ILF a financial assessment should be carried out.
The Council's Care at Home Charging policy should be applied and a charge raised
if applicable. Any charge the Council raises should be entered on the client's ILF
application form.
Where a client is pursuing an application for ILF assistance, it is essential to ensure
that the net cost of the social work services after the Council charge has been
applied exceeds £320. Net costs less than £320 would mean a client would be
ineligible for ILF assistance. If the application of the Council’s charge marginally
impacts on the ability to pursue ILF, client charging should be in line with ILF’s
charging policy.
A charge applied by Renfrewshire Council after an application has been made to ILF
would mean that Renfrewshire Council would be in breach of the trust deed.
Please note ILF will cease to exist from April 2015. No new applications are
being accepted for ILF funding.
5. Independent Living Service (ILS)
Where clients are in receipt of ILS, a financial assessment should be carried out and
an appropriate charge levied.
6. Charge for Direct Payments
Where clients receive direct payments a financial assessment will be carried out to
determine whether a charge will apply.
Clients will receive Direct Payments net i.e. less their assessed clients contribution.
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7. Care at Home Services
Clients whose net income, after housing costs, is below a set level or “threshold” are
not charged for any services they receive.
Separate threshold levels are in place for clients under and over 60. Thresholds are
linked to pension credits for those over 60. For those under 60 their income support
personal allowance, plus any disability premium is included. In both cases a “buffer”
of 16.5% is added. Inclusion of the buffer of 16.5% means that a savings credit
disregard is not applied in care at home financial assessments.
The current income thresholds are detailed at Appendix 2.
To allow an accurate charge to be established, it is essential that a client’s
assessment of need clearly identifies the three components of care and support
provided: Personal Care, Domestic Service or Housing Support.
Services to clients may be arranged through in house and purchased services.
Where clients receive services from multiple providers, the information is collated
and a single financial assessment completed.
The charge for any 4 week period should be adjusted to take account of any breaks
in service i.e. hospital admission or clients on holiday.
To ensure that correct charges are applied charges for care at home services
should be reviewed following any service change.
8. Meals
The introduction of the community meals service means that the meal service will be
removed from the core home care package and separate charges applied. These
charges are the same as those applied within day care. Where the community
meals service has not yet been implemented, the cost of meals provided at home as
part of a home care package will continue to be included in the home care weekly
charge. Meals delivered at home will be charged 4 weekly in arrears. The current
cost of meals is detailed in Appendix 2.
The community meals service is not means tested, i.e individual financial
circumstances are not taken into consideration, therefore all clients who receive this
service pay for this service.
All meals are charged at a flat rate, details of which are included in Appendix 2
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9. Community Alarms Charge
The service is chargeable from the time of installation to permanent withdrawal.
There are no reductions to charges for clients on holiday, in hospital, in respite or
temporary accommodation.
Community alarm invoices are issued 13 weekly in arrears.
For tenants in sheltered housing accommodation or very sheltered housing the
community alarm charge is included as part of their housing support charge.
The current charge for the Community Alarm service is detailed in Appendix 2.
If clients regularly receive overnight support from the Community Alarm responder
service, the client will be classified as being in receipt of an overnight service.
10. Respite Care
Respite in a Care Home:
Clients who receive less than 8 weeks respite care in a care home do not need to be
financially assessed.
If more than 8 weeks respite (56 nights) is required per year, then a financial
assessment form must be completed for the period after 8 weeks in total has been
reached as the client will now be classed as a temporary admission and care
charges will be based on their individual financial circumstances (from night 57
onwards).
Charges for respite care for older people and adults are aligned with the DWP
benefits received by clients. Current charges are detailed in Appendix 2.
Respite at Home:
If respite is provided at home the Care at Home charging policy applies.
11 Self Directed Support (SDS)
With the imminent implementation of personalisation (Self Directed Support) and
personal budgets, it is proposed that an extension of the contributions process
currently adopted for Direct Payments is introduced.
For any individual in receipt of a personal budget, an annual contribution will be
calculated based on the cost of the service and the individuals ability to pay up to a
maximum of the service cost. This annual contribution will be divided into a regular
weekly charge.
For short term services, the charge will be limited to the duration of the service
This will be further developed based on experience of personalisation and will be
kept under review.
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Please note: If you are aged 65 years and over and have been assessed as
requiring a personal care service, this part of your care package will be provided free
of charge, however other elements of your services may be subject to charge.
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Summary of Appendices
Appendix 1:
Analysis of tasks within each of the categories of care; personal,
domestic and housing support
Appendix 2:
Charging rates for care at home services.
Appendix 3:
Care at Home Charging leaflet
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APPENDIX 1
ANALYSIS OF SERVICE PROVISION – “3 WAY SPLIT”
Workers MUST contact the SDSS (Self Directed Support Services Team) prior to requesting ILF reviews, to ensure the three way
split meets the ILF criteria.
Personal Care
Action
Task
Comment
Personal Hygiene
Workers assisting service user with:
Continence
Management
Workers assisting service user with:
Food and Diet
Workers assisting service user with:
Mobility
Workers assisting service user with:
Counselling and
Support
Workers assisting service user with:
Simple Treatments
Workers assisting service user with:
Personal Assistance
Workers assisting service user with:
 Bathing
 Showering
 Hair Care
 Shaving
 Oral Hygiene
 Nail Care
 Toileting
 Catheter / Colostomy / Stoma Care
 Skin Care
 Incontinence Laundry
 Associated bed changing
 Emptying commode
 Eating
 Managing and preparing special diets eg pureed food
 Preparation of food in the home
 Advance preparation of snacks and drinks
 Dealing with the consequences of not being able to move
 Moving and handling
 Behaviour management
 Psychological support
 Reminding and safety devices
 Medication
 Eye drops
 Creams and lotions
 Simple dressings
 Oxygen therapy
 Dressing
 Surgical appliances
 Prosthesis
 Mechanical and manual aids
 Getting into and out of bed
 Transfers and hoist use
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Counselling and support in
this context only applies
when these tasks are being
carried out in relation to
personal care tasks.
Domestic Services
Action
Task
Comment
Personal Laundry
Worker
 Carrying out personal laundry (excluding incontinence
laundry)
With no participation by the
service user
Ironing
Worker
 Carrying out Ironing
Clothing Repairs
Worker
 Carrying out clothing repairs
Nutrition
Worker
Pet Care
Worker
 Management of food stores / fridges etc
 Menu planning
 Providing meals and refreshments as appropriate
 Dealing with dietary needs including having regard to health
related needs eg diabetes or religious requirements
 Supervision at mealtimes
 Coping with domestic pets including day to day care and
feeding
With no participation by the
service user
With no participation by the
service user
With no participation by the
service user
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Housing Support
Life Skills
Service User Welfare
Adaptations
Budgeting / Debt
Management
Action
Task
Worker provides life skills training
to the service user in maintaining
the dwelling and curtilage (ie close;
stairs; paths; bin areas; garden
pertaining to the service users
accommodation) in appropriate
condition. Worker assists and
advises the service user on:
 Kitchen / food hygiene
 Kitchen routines eg cleaning, washing up, bin emptying
 Personal laundry routines, ironing
 Cleaning (hovering, dusting, window cleaning, floor cleaning,
kitchen and bathroom cleaning)
 Arranging services eg gas, electricity, water
 Appropriate personal routines
 Appropriate clothing / footwear
 Appropriate personal hygiene
 Prompting re the above
 Prompting re medication routines
 How to keep garden, close, stairs, bin areas etc in
appropriate condition
 Arrange and attend doctors / hospital etc (inc. escort)
 Attend day care (including escort)
 Attend groups, social activities and reviews (inc. escort)
 Maintain contact with friends and family (inc. escort)
With participation by the
service user
 Assist service user to make referral to OT dept or make
referral for service user
 Arrange appointments and attend appointments with or for
the service user in relation to adaptations
 Arrange to be present when adaptations are being carried
out in the service user’s home
 Remind the service user of the safe use of adaptations
 Collect benefits with or for the service user
 Advise and assist service user to budget income
 Advise and assist service user to pay bills
 Enable service user to access debt counselling services
 Enable service user to access advocacy services
 Enable service user to access legal services
 Advise and assist service user to set up and maintain bank
account appropriately, including direct debits, standing
orders etc
 Advise and assist service user to plan / save for future
expenditure eg furniture purchase, holidays etc
With participation by the
service user
Worker assists the service user to
engage with individuals,
professionals and other bodies with
an interest in the welfare of the
service user. Worker assists the
service user to:
Worker arranges adaptations to
enable the service user to cope
with disability. Worker can:
Worker advises or assists the
service user with personal
budgeting and debt counselling.
Worker can:
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Comment
(with or without service user)
With participation by the
service user
With participation by the
service user
Housing Support
Action
Relationships /
Neighbour Disputes
Advising or assisting the service
user in dealing with relationships
and disputes with neighbours.
Benefits /
Correspondence
Advising or assisting the service
user in dealing with benefit claims
and other official correspondence
relevant to sustaining the
occupancy of the dwelling. Worker
advises and assists the service
user to: Worker
Task
 Advise and assist service user to sustain appropriate
relationships with neighbours, friends and family
 Advocate and negotiate appropriately with or on behalf of the
service user in disputes.
 Visit the benefits agency
 Read and understand correspondence
 Complete forms
 Provide evidence of income / savings
 Liaise / advocate for the service user with utility companies
DWP etc
 Liaise / advocate for the service user with housing benefit
and council tax benefit
 Liaise / advocate for the service user with the landlord
 Access welfare rights services
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Comment
With participation by the
service user
With participation by the
service user
APPENDIX 2
CHARGING RATES FOR NON RESIDENTIAL SERVICES 2012/13
Lower Capital Limit
CURRENT RATES
£170 per week
£259 per week
£0.85
£14.24
Full cost of the service
£10,000
Upper Capital Limit
£25,250
DESCRIPTION
Single Person Threshold: over 60
Couple Threshold: over 65
Rate per £ above thresholds
Hourly Rate
Maximum charge for self funders
Community Meal
£2.50
Community Alarm charge
£3.25 per week
Respite Care: where client is under 25
where client is less than 60
where client is more than 60
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£63.90 per week
£78.80 per week
£121.50 per week

APPENDIX 3
Renfrewshire Council Social Work
CALCULATING YOUR CARE AT HOME CHARGE 2013/14



We use your “available weekly income” to calculate what you are liable to pay
Firstly, from the information you have given us we will calculate what your available weekly
income is.
Available weekly income is the income you receive every week, such as: welfare benefits;
pension etc., less certain housing payments that you make. We then apply a set charge (this
is currently 85p) for every £1 of available weekly income above the threshold level.
What we include as weekly income
When calculating available weekly income, we include:

state retirement pension

any works pension in payment

some welfare benefits in payment (some benefits are not included - see below)

an amount related to savings above £10,000
If you have savings between £10,000 and £25,250, we will add £1 to your available weekly
income for each block of £500 between these amounts. For example, if you have savings of
£12,000, then £4 of income per week will be added to your available weekly income.
What we leave out of weekly available income
When calculating available weekly income we leave out:














Any rent, or mortgage interest, being paid
DLA Mobility Component
War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement
Carers Allowance
Christmas Bonus
Council Tax and Housing Benefits (water and sewerage charges are not excluded)
Gallantry Awards (GC, VC, similar from abroad)
Social Fund payments
Winter Fuel Payments from DSS
Independent Living Fund Payments
War Widows’ Special Payments
any payment from a range of charitable and special funds
income from a mortgage protection policy
income from a “home income plan” annuity
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




income in kind, not cash
trainees’ training premium and travelling expenses
child benefit
£20 earning disregard
Attendance Allowance / Disability Living Allowance (Care Component)
Unless a client receives overnight services we disregard the difference between the higher and
lower / middle rate attendance allowance or disability allowance (care component). In all other
circumstances the full value of the Allowances is taken into consideration.
We also disregard the first £10 of the following:

payments to victims of Nazi persecution paid under German or Austrian law

Civilian war injury pension

War Disablement Pension

War Widow’s Pension (but not War Widows’ Special Payments)
Free service below “charge thresholds”
If you are over 60 and your available income after the above is below:


£170 and you have been financially assessed as a single person you will not pay anything for the
service
£259 and you have been financially assessed as a couple you will not pay anything for the
service
If you are under 60 and your available income after the above is below:


£120 and you have been financially assessed as a single person you will not pay anything for the
service
£183 and you have been financially assessed as a couple you will not pay anything for the
service
The amounts shown above are called the charge thresholds.
The amount which you will be charged
When we have calculated your available weekly income, we multiply your available weekly
income by 85p for every £1 you have above the charge threshold.
Some examples of these calculations are provided in this leaflet.

If your savings are more than £25,250 you will pay the full cost of the service which is currently
£14.24 per hour.

If your savings are less than £25,250 we will ensure that when we calculate your charge we do
not charge you more than it costs to provide the service.
A letter will be sent to you confirming your weekly charge. You should confirm that you agree
with it by signing and returning the attached pro forma to your local area team.
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Payment Options
A number of payment options are available to you:
 Cheque/Postal Order
Cheques or postal orders can be taken to any Renfrewshire Council Service Point or posted to:
Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AD
Please make cheques/postal orders payable to: Renfrewshire Council and write your invoice
number on the reverse of your cheque or postal order.

Credit/Debit Card
Telephone 0141 842 4400 to make payment over the phone (lines open Monday to Friday, 8am to
6pm)
An automated payment service is also available 24 hours a day by telephoning 0845 602 0355.
Online at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk and click on Online Services.
Please note that a 2% fee will be payable on all credit card payments.

Cash
Pay by cash using the invoice at any Renfrewshire Council Service Point, UK Post Office or shop
offering the Paypoint or Payzone facility.

BACS Transfer
Payments by BACS transfer should be made payable to:
Sort Code: 82-54-04
Account: 50000043
Bank: Clydesdale Bank, Dunn Square Branch, 1 Causeyside Street, Paisley, PA1 1BH
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Examples to explain how charges are calculated
Example 1
A 90 year old woman lives in a local authority house and receives 9.25 hours personal care
and 7.5 hours domestic care per week. None of these services are provided overnight.
Her weekly income is £274.55 from: a retirement pension; pension credits; occupation
pension; and higher rate DLA care component.
The total cost of her chargeable services is £106.80. Her financial assessment indicated that
she could afford to pay £66.64 per week towards the cost of her care. The financially
assessed charge is the charge which she will have to pay.
Example 2
Mr and Mrs A (aged 76 and 77) live in sheltered accommodation. They receive 14 hours of
personal care, delivered overnight, 2 hours of housing support and 3 hours of domestic care.
Their weekly income is £416.40 from: a retirement pension; pension credits; occupational
pension; and, higher rate attendance allowance for both claimants. They also receive full
housing benefit.
The total cost of their chargeable services is £71.20. Their financial assessments indicated
that they could afford to pay £89.33 per week towards the cost of their care. In this example
the clients will pay the full cost of their chargeable services £71.20 because it is less than the
amount they can afford to pay, based on their financial assessments.
Example 3
A 30 year old man with learning disabilities lives in a local authority house. He receives 5
hours personal care, 4 hours housing support and 6 hours domestic assistance. He receives
Employment and Support Allowance of £131.20 (comprising of £71.70 personal allowances
for 25 and over and severe disability £59.50) plus a DLA care component of £51.85 per
week. He does not receive any housing benefit.
As he also earns £65 a week from a part time job this will affect the amount he will have to
pay. Because of his disability, he will be allowed a £20 earnings disregard (earnings
disregard higher – special occupations/circumstances). However, the remaining £45 will
mean that his Employment and Support Allowance will be reduced from £131.20 to £86.20.
The total cost of his chargeable services is £213.60. His financial assessment indicated that
he could contribute £52.74 per week towards the cost of his care. The financially assessed
charge is the charge which he will have to pay.
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Renfrewshire Council Social Work: Examples of Care at Home Charges
2013-2014
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Support Hours:
Personal Care
Domestic Care
Housing Support
Total Hours
Housing Benefit
9.25
7.50
16.75
14.00
3.00
2.00
19.00
5.00
6.00
4.00
15.00
Yes
Yes
No
7.50
7.50
£106.80
3.00
2.00
5.00
£71.20
5.00
6.00
4.00
15.00
£213.60
DWP Benefits
Occupational Pension
AA / DLA Care Component
Earnings
£145.40
£50.00
£79.15
£183.10
£75.00
£158.30
Gross Income
£274.55
£170.00
£26.15
£416.40
£259.00
£53.00
£65.00
£204.20
£120.00
Chargeable Hours:
Personal Care
Domestic Care
Housing Support
Total Hours
Cost of Chargeable Hours = total hours x
£14.24 (current hourly rate)
Income:
Less: Threshold
Less: DLA Care/AA Component disregard
Less: Earnings Disregard
£86.20
= Income to which charge can be applied
X the Rate per £
£78.40
£0.85
£157.40
£0.85
£20.00
£64.20
£0.85
= Charge based on Financial Assessment
£66.64
£133.79
£54.57
ACTUAL CHARGE APPLIED (lower of the cost of
£66.64
£71.20
£54.57
the chargeable services and outcome of the financial assessment)
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