Cabinet approves East Ayrshire Social Care Services Contribution and Charging Framework

Charges for social care services are set in line with National Guidance and approved by Council each year, and income from charges is reinvested into social care services.  Personal and nursing care has been provided free of charge for people over 65 since 2002, and personal care similarly free for adults aged 18-64 since 2019, regardless of income or capital assets where there is an assessed need.

The Contribution and Charging Framework explains how East Ayrshire Council considers and calculates the contribution that people pay towards the social care services they receive. The Framework is based on fairness, consistency, transparency and cost-recovery, and any individuals drawing on support are offered information and advice to maximise their income.

East Ayrshire Council sets a maximum charge above which service users cannot be charged, irrespective of the income based charge or the indicative cost of the service or services provided. The Council benchmarks favourably with other local authorities in terms of setting a maximum charge. Although charges in East Ayrshire have not increased since April 2018, costs have increased significantly over this period of time and pay uplifts amount to approximately 25% from 2019 until 2023. 

Going forward, the maximum charge for non-residential community care services will increase by 10% from £107.32 to £118.05 per week.

East Ayrshire Council also compares favourably in terms of charges for community alarms and day services, both nationally and across Ayrshire. While charges for these have, again, not increased since April 2018, costs of delivering the services have increased over this period of time.

• The daily charge for day care services will rise by 10% from £3.39 to £3.73
• The weekly charge for the community alarm service will increase from £4.31 to £4.75

Charges do not apply to individuals who have an income below the standard weekly threshold, and charges can be waived in whole or in part by Heads of Service in cases of hardship. 

Councillor Clare Maitland, Cabinet Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, said: “Our Community Planning Partners in East Ayrshire are committed to supporting people with health and social care needs who want to live at home independently, safely and for as long as possible, and the Council commits a significant proportion of its annual revenue budget to this priority.

“With costs rising significantly over the last few years, we must now increase charges for social care services so that we can continue to deliver these within the resources that we have available, while also recognising the increasing demand for these services. We need to ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of the most vulnerable members of our community.”

ends