Financial Charges Frequently Asked Questions
1. I don’t have any money and am on benefits why am I being charged?
It is unfortunately now usual for people in receipt of adult
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
to have to contribute towards their care.
2. I think that I am being charged too much. How do I challenge the decision?
Each
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
will have its own policy for
financial
Financial means anything that is to do with money. It is used to describe how people, businesses, or governments get money and how they use it
charging for social care. If it is not available on the
local authority
A local authority is another name for your local council. It is a group of people whose job is to look after the area where you live.
’s
website
A website is a page you can go to on the internet like Google or YouTube.
, you should ask for a copy of their policy. You should also have been provided with a copy of the financial
assessment
An assessment is a way of finding out what help a person needs. When you have an assessment, you might have to go to a meeting or fill in a form.
, the local authority’s decision, and reasons for the charges that you are being required to pay.
There may be a time limit for challenging a decision, therefore you will need to get details of how to challenge the decision as quickly as possible so that you do not miss any deadlines for challenging the decision.
3. Will I still accrue debt while I challenge the assessment?
You should ask your local authority to freeze the charges whilst you are waiting for a decision on your challenge. However, if your challenge is unsuccessful, you may still have to pay for the debt that accrued whilst you were challenging the decision.
4. It looks like the assessment was carried out correctly, but I have no money to live, can I still challenge it?
You may be able to challenge it, as one of the objectives of the local authority’s charging policy should be to ensure that you are not being charged more than it is reasonably practicable for you to pay. The local authority should also promote your wellbeing, social inclusion and support the vision of personalisation,
independence
Independence means doing things on your own. Making your own choices.
, choice, and control. If you feel that cannot afford to live due to the charges, you could try to argue that the local authority’s financial charges policy is contrary to these principles.
5. My LA assessed my needs, set up a care package and have only now assessed by finances and are now backdating the charge, is this reasonable?
The Local Authority is able to backdate charges provided that you would have been required to pay them at the time (i.e., that your financial circumstances meant that you were eligible to pay towards your social care). You should check that the information in the financial assessment accurately reflects your situation at the time that the care package commenced and has taken any change of circumstances into consideration.
6. I live with my parents. Will their income and savings be considered when the local authority is deciding how much to charge me for social care?
No, the local authority must only look at your income Income is all the money you get from things like paid jobs and government benefits. and savings when carrying out the financial assessment. If you own any property jointly (or have a joint bank account) then the local authority will assume that you own half of that property, or content of the account, unless you can prove otherwise.
For more information about this resource, please contact the Learning Disability A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things. Helpline.
Phone: 0808 808 1111
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This resource was first published: 14/09/2023
Last amended: 14/09/2023