Cabinet approves East Ayrshire Social Care Services Contribution and Charging Framework

The Framework explains how East Ayrshire Council considers and calculates the contribution and/or charge that people will be expected to pay towards the care services they receive from the Health and Social Care Partnership. The Framework is based on fairness, equality, consistent decision making and transparency, and any individuals drawing on support are offered information and advice to maximise their income.

Charges for social care services are set in line with statutory requirements and COSLA National Guidance and are approved by Council each year. Any income received from charges is reinvested into social care services.

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.

Going forward, the maximum charge to an individual service user for non-residential social care services will increase from £118.05 to £129.90 per week. This represents an annual contribution of £6770.64.

East Ayrshire Council compares favourably in terms of charges for community alarms and day services, both nationally and across Ayrshire. The following changes will be made to charges for non-residential social care services:

• The daily charge for day care services will rise from £3.73 to £4.00.
• The weekly charge for the community alarm service will increase from £4.74 to £5.22.

The flat rate charge for Blue Badges will remain at £20.

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. Charges also do not apply to the provision of personal or nursing care.

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 continuing to rise significantly, we need to 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 ultimately need to ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of the most vulnerable members of our communities.”

ends