Derbyshire council’s cost-saving care plan could leave vulnerable struggling to pay for support

The Conservative-led Derbyshire County Council currently allows a £50,000 capital and disposable income limit for those who benefit from the local authority’s subsidised care services but if – as is proposed – this limit is reduced to £23,250 only those possessing less than this reduced figure may be eligible for subsidised council care – leaving many concerned about how they will pay for their own support.

Councillor Natalie Hoy, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Care, said: “We’re committed to supporting people to remain living independently at home for longer but with demand rising we have to ensure adult care support is fair and sustainable.

“Spending on adult care services accounts for almost half of the council’s overall budget so we must consider how we fund services now – and in the future – so that we can ensure it is fair, sustainable and continues to protect those who need us most.”

Derbyshire County Council’s adult social care supports the elderly, those with illnesses, disabilities and mental incapacities.

The council is considering three complicated overall options but it has stated these proposals will not affect anyone living permanently in a residential or nursing home.

A first option includes the following: Introducing the national capital limit of £23,250 which means anyone who has more than this figure will have to pay for their own support; Introducing the national tariff income of £1 in every £250 for those with capital between £14,250 – £23,250; And charging on 100 per cent of a disposable income with a £20 a week allowance known as a disability related expenditure disregard.

The second option would be the same as the first option but would include a charge on 90per cent of a disposable income with a £20 a week disability related expenditure disregard allowance.

A third option is also largely the same as the first option but would include a charge on 80per cent of a disposable income with a £20 a week disability related expenditure disregard allowance.

Concerned Labour County Cllr Anne-Frances Hayes told a Staveley Town Council meeting on Tuesday, September 26, the county council is planning on reducing the capital limit from £50,000 to £23,250 and those with an income or money above £23,250 will have to pay for their own care.

Cllr Hayes added that this will lead to people’s care bills increasing and leaving many people having to cancel services so she urged residents to take part in an on-going county council consultation.

People who receive adult social care in the community have received a letter and a copy of a public consultation questionnaire and the council is urging people to take part in the consultation so it can consider everyone’s views before making any final decisions.

Residents are also being asked about the council’s disability related expenditure process because under the proposed new policy, charges relating to respite cover in a residential care home or nursing home – which helps give home carers a break – would also change and could also be based on a person’s capital and disposable income.

Labour group Deputy Leader, County Cllr Ruth George, raised concerns at a county council meeting that carers of people with learning disabilities are now facing the closure of respite homes which allow carers to have breaks.

Cllr Hoy said at the meeting that NHS Derbyshire and Derby Integrated Care Board administrators are reviewing the provision of short-term break units which are commissioned by the NHS through the Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust.

Cllr George also questioned what measures the council is considering to reduce the cost of adult social care, what resources have been planned to enable financial assessments and disability related expenditure assessments, and what assessments and measures have been made for the potential financial impact on residents who will not have expected such high expenditure?

Cllr Hoy responded by stating any proposed changes are only proposals, and no decisions will be made until the council has given people the opportunity to express their views and until the council has fully taken these views into account.

The public consultation, which runs until October 4, has involved face-to-face meetings with one event held on September 28. at Clowne Community Centre, and a further scheduled at Buxton Methodist Church, between 10.30am and 12midday, on Friday, September 29.

Cllr Hoy said: “We want to hear from as many people as possible and please be assured that no decisions will be made about any changes until we’ve given people the opportunity to tell us their views and we have taken these fully into account.”

The proposed changes to the care service have coincided with the recent appointment of a new county council Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health, Simon Stevens, whose salary will be on a pay scale of between £121,562 to £133,525 per year after the resignation of Helen Jones, according to the council.

Members of the public can find out about the proposals and are encouraged to fill in an online questionnaire at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/cofundingconsultation.

To book a place in advance for the consultation at Buxton Methodist Church, or to get help filling in a questionnaire, people can contact the county council’s Stakeholder Engagement and Consultation Team on 01629 531307 or email [email protected].

Derbyshire County Council Leader Barry Lewis revealed a range of tough cost-cutting plans in September in an effort to chip away at a massive predicted budget overspend of £46m in the forthcoming months.

The cash-strapped council is facing a financial crisis and has lready announced it is to stop all non-essential spending and implement a hiring freeze, due to a predicted overspend on its budget of £46m by next March.