Community Care charging consultation - questions and answers

We will update these questions and answers during the consultation process as new questions arise.

Is Adult Social Care free?

Unlike services on the NHS which are free, Adult Social Care services are means tested.

What does it cost to get Community Care Services?

We undertake an individual Financial Assessment to determine how much you will need to contribute towards the cost of you Community Care Services. Your income, capital and living costs are taken into consideration which determine your contribution towards the cost of your care.

Income and capital

If you have savings or investments (capital) over the current national threshold of £23,250 you will be asked to pay the full cost of care.

If your capital is below £23,250 the council will need to see the full details of your income and capital. This includes for example, building society passbooks, bank statements, share certificates and other income such as rental income or private pension or capital documents. It also includes state benefits such as:

State Retirement Pension
Employment and Support Allowance
Universal Credit
Disability benefits
Pension Credit
Occupational and private pensions
Any other income such as: the older benefits that some people may still be in receipt of i.e., Industrial Injuries

Living costs

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) issues a Local Authority Circular each year titled ‘Charging for Care and Support’ which includes details of Minimum Income Guarantee levels (The MIG).

The Minimum Income Guarantee is to cover daily living costs such as:

food
clothing
energy bills
water rates
insurance
leisure activities
TV licence
telephone and subscriptions for tv channels

A financial assessment would then be undertaken to determine what a person will need to contribute towards the cost of their care, taking in to account the Minimum Income Guarantee set by the Government.

Disregards

The financial assessments disregards i.e. do not take this income into account:

some property-related household expenses such rent, mortgage costs, and council tax
Earnings from employment
Charitable income
Winter fuel and cold weather payments
Statutory sick pay, statutory adoption pay, and statutory maternity pay or allowance.
The mobility component of disability living allowance or personal independence payment.
The difference between the lower rate and higher rate of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)/Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – current disregard £35.90pw
Tax credit
Maintenance payments specifically relating to a child.
War pensions
Guaranteed Income Payments (GIPs) paid under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS)
Savings Credit Disregards (first £6.95 per week single person)
War Pension Disregards – in full for non-residential
Dependent Child Disregard (currently £101.25 per child per week)
(as mentioned below) Mobility element of disability benefit (currently £28.70 or £75.75)

We make allowances for certain extra expenses you may have because you are disabled. These are called ‘disability-related expenses.’

The financial assessment helps the council to calculate your charge and identify any other benefits that you should be claiming.

In simple terms it is your ‘income’ less your living costs and any disregards which gives the maximum amount you are required to contribute towards your care.

When the financial assessment has been completed, a statement will be is sent to you which explains how your charge has been calculated, and you will receive an invoice for your contribution towards the cost of your care.

How will the proposed council tax increase affect my financial assessment?

Council Tax is always disregarded as Essential Housing Costs as part of our financial assessment process.

If the proposed council tax increase is implemented, any increase in Council Tax will reduce the net income taken into account in the financial assessment and will not have a negative impact on their social care contribution.

Safe and Sound Charges are likely to be increasing how much more will I have to pay for those as well?

For people with an assessed eligible care need the costs of Safe and Sound will be classed as a Disability Related Expenditure and disregarded in the financial assessment process i.e. reducing the net income taken into account in the process.

What are Community Care Services?

Community Care Services include:

Day care (unless provided as part of a package of residential care)
Personal care
Outreach support
Supported Living services
Time Out
Extra Care Housing
Direct Payments

Contributions towards the cost of Community Care Services are not charged if a person is:

suffering from Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
in receipt of 100% Continuing Healthcare Funding
receiving aftercare under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act

If any of these apply to you will be aware.

How it works

Community Care Services help people who are disabled, have long term health problems or are elderly with adult social care eligible needs to live more independently in their homes and the community) You will have been assessed by a social worker and your eligible needs can be met in a variety of personalised ways, for example by a service managed by the council or purchased yourself by a direct payment received from the council.

Who are Community Care Services for?

Community Care Services help people who are disabled, have long term health problems or are elderly with adult social care eligible needs to live more independently in their homes and the community. They provide support using various options from: Day Care, Personal Care, Outreach Support, Supported Living services, Time Out or Extra Care Housing and can be arranged by the council or by you with a Direct Payment from the council.

How are Community Care Services accessed?

If you need extra support in your home or need support with daily activities, initial contact is via the Independent Advice Hub (telephone number 01274 434500.

Does the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) change?

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) issues a Local Authority Circular each year titled ‘Charging for Care and Support.’ In recent years this has been issued around the end of January/beginning of February.

The Minimum Income Guarantee has not always increased but it did in the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 in line with inflation and benefit increases.

The current Minimum Income Guarantee Levels for the financial year (2024 to 2025), are as follows:

where the adult concerned is:

responsible for, and a member of, the same household as a child,

the amount of £101.25 in respect of each child

a single person and:

is aged 18 or older but less than 25, the amount of £87.65.
is aged 25 or older but less than pension credit age, the amount of £110.60.
has attained pension credit age, the amount of £228.70.
is a lone parent aged 18 or over, the amount of £110.60?

is a member of a couple and:

one or both are aged 18 or over, the amount of £86.85.
one or both have attained pension credit age, the amount of £174.60.

is a single person who is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of:

disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £48.80.
enhanced disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £23.85.

is a member of a couple and one member of that couple is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of:

disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £34.80.
enhanced disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £17.15 is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of carer premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £52.35.

Minimum Income Guarantee Figures for the 2025/26 financial year

People receiving local authority-arranged care and support other than in a care home need to retain a certain level of income to cover their living costs. Under the Care Act 2014, charges must not reduce people’s income below a certain amount, but local authorities can allow people to keep more of their income if they wish. This is a weekly amount and is known as the MIG.

For the next financial year (2025 to 2026), the rates of the MIG will increase in line with inflation as follows where the adult concerned is:

Is a single person and:

is aged 18 or older but less than 25, the amount of £89.15.
is aged 25 or older but less than pension credit age, the amount of £112.50.
has attained pension credit age, the amount of £232.60.
is a lone parent aged 18 or over, the amount of £112.50.

is a member of a couple and:

one or both are aged 18 or over, the amount of £88.35.
one or both have attained pension credit age, the amount of £177.55.

is a single person who is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of:

disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £49.65.
enhanced disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £24.25.

is a member of a couple and one member of that couple is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of:

disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £35.40.
enhanced disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £17.45.
is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of carer premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £53.25.

What changes are we proposing?

The Council’s Non-Residential Contributions policy currently adds a non-statutory 25% buffer to the basic levels of income support when completing your financial assessment.

The proposed change would remove this buffer and make the amount set aside to cover expenses for adults who receive care and support other than in a care home to the same level as the DHSC Minimum Income Guarantee figure when calculating your financial assessment while ensuring the contributions people make for their care is affordable and based on individual circumstances.

This would increase the amount most people will need to contribute towards the cost of their community care services and will increase the overall income the council receives from these contributions.

What if I do not disclose my financial information?

You will pay the full cost of care.

What is a self-funder?

A self-funder is someone who is paying for the full cost of their care and support. This is most common where you have savings or investments adding up to over £23,250. This figure is set every year by the Government.
If you do not provide the information, we need to complete a financial assessment we will consider you to be a self-funder. Or if you do not have eligible care needs under the Care Act, you will have to pay the full cost of care you have arranged.
If you are a self-funder, you are entitled to a free assessment of your care needs. After this, the council can arrange your non-residential care and support for you.
Currently, the council does not charge for arranging non-residential care for self-funders, however this service is under review and will become chargeable at some point in the future.
Alternatively, you may choose to enter into private arrangements with care providers to arrange your care.
While paying for your care, the amount of your savings and investments will reduce. You should let us know when this amount gets close to the capital limit (£23,250) by contacting the Independent Advice Hub on 01274 434500.

Can someone tell me how much my charge might be before I start receiving support?

Once we have details of your finances we can give you an indication of your assessed income. This will not take into account the cost of your care at this point but will show us what you can afford to contribute.

Can you tell me how much more I would need to pay if the proposals were to progress?

The letter sent to you sets out your current contribution and what it could increase to if these proposals progress. This is based on your current services, the price for those services and your current financial assessment.

To ensure we have your most up to date financial information and that you are claiming all of the benefits you are entitled to we will complete a new financial assessment and welfare benefit review with you before any changes would be made.

For those of you who are self-funders or who pay the full cost of your care you will not be impacted by these changes because for the full cost of your care. We have included you to give you an opportunity to participate we did want you have an opportunity to participate in the consultation process if you want to. We will be sending a revised letter to those people.

When would the changes be introduced?

This is a consultation and so no changes will be introduced at the moment. Following the consultation, we will review the feedback and take a report to the Executive in June 2025 providing feedback from this consultation process.

If any changes are approved in June, we would write to you again and before any changes were introduced, we would undertake a new financial assessment and welfare benefit review with you. Any change would only be implemented, if Executive approved the change in June, after the new financial assessment and welfare benefit review.

What are Invoicees, Appointees and Deputies

Some people in receipt of care and support have advised us they want a family member or someone else to receive any information about their finances. We call these Invoicees and we have noted this on our system. Some people have a family member or someone else to manage their finances where they have been assessed as not having the mental capacity to manage their finance themselves – these people are called Appointees or Deputies, we have noted this on our system.

Where we know someone has an Invoicee, an Appointee or a Deputy we have sent the consultation letter and information to their named Invoicee, Appointee or Deputy as they manage their finances.

What if my provider fails to deliver my services?

Please let us know if your provider has failed to deliver your service. We will discuss this with the provider, and we will review your care charges account. Please note that you may not always see a reduction in your weekly charge as this is dependent upon your financial assessment, which determines your weekly charge and the level of services that you receive.

If I reduce my care package will my charge reduce?

For most people reducing your package will not reduce the charge you are paying.

If you’re paying a contribution towards the cost of your care, then reducing your package may not reduce how much you pay. This is because your assessed contribution may be lower than the actual cost of your care package.

If you have been assessed to pay the full cost of your care, then reducing your care package will reduce the amount you pay each week.

Your care package is based on your care needs assessment and the services that are required to meet your assessed adult social care needs; therefore, you would need to discuss with your social care worker any reason for reducing your care package.

Please could you also clarify the disability related expenses policy?

At present we use NAFAO (National Association of Financial Assessment Officers) guidance.

We are in the process of developing specific operational guidance relating to Disability Related Expenditure for Bradford Service Users.

What is the threshold for expenses families should we put down for our young people in terms of rent and board when they live supported at home rather than supported living?

We don’t have a threshold for younger people who live with their parents. If the charge is unaffordable based on their benefits, they have the opportunity to appeal, and we could consider board and lodging.

We do not allow a disregard for utilities, the expectation is the buffer/Minimum Guarantee Amount disregarded covers food, utilities, and other spending. We would only look at utilities on request where a person’s bills exceed the national averages (using the National Association of Financial Assessment Officers guidance).

We then disregard Rent, Mortgage and Council Tax (as Housing Costs) where applicable and where the person in receipt of care is formally named on any such agreement.

Where a young person resides with parents, under current working practices in Bradford, the expectation is that they use the disregarded amount to pay towards food, utilities, and other spending as with anyone else.

With regards rent/mortgage as the young person is not liable for rent/mortgage payments or if not named on the documentation we would not normally make an allowance for rent/mortgage, unless in certain circumstances which would be dealt with via appeal – for example : Where parents are paying rent/claiming housing benefit and have to pay the extra due to needing a property with an additional bedroom to accommodate the young adult, then this would be heard via an appeal with evidence.

The Minimum Income Guarantee amount, unless there is any specific Disability Related Expenditure, will be the threshold.

Transport and Financial Assessments

Transport has been raised in several of the Engagement Sessions we have held so far.

Personal Independence Payment daily living component (Personal Independence Payment Care) is designed to help with extra costs of everyday living needs. While not specifically for transportation, this money can be used however the recipient chooses to meet their care needs as identified in their care plan.

Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance Care/Daily Living components are included in a person’s Financial Assessment.

Personal Independence Payment Mobility component (Personal Independence Payment Mobility) is to meet transportation and mobility needs. These payments can be used to lease a vehicle through the Mobility scheme, which provides adapted cars, powered wheelchairs, or scooter. These payments can also be received as a cash payment and used to pay for other transportation options like taxis, community transport services or public transport costs.

Personal Independence Payment Mobility component is fully disregarded from financial assessment. (NAFAO, 2024 - guide to DRE 2024/25). This will continue to be disregarded.

In addition, where transport costs can be evidenced as being in excess of the mobility element, the extra amount over and above the mobility element may be considered as Disability Related Expenditure.

We receive many varying requests to allow additional transport costs. Not all agreed, each case is looked at on an individual basis and where needed the person in receipt of care would be advised to appeal if they still felt the charge was unaffordable.

How can I have my say on the proposed changes?

We have a legal duty to consult with you on the changes we are proposing.

The changes we are proposing are:

The Council’s Non-Residential Contributions policy currently adds a non-statutory 25% buffer in addition to income support benefits set each year when completing your financial assessment.

The proposed change would remove this buffer and make the amount set aside to cover expenses for adults who receive care and support other than in a care home to the same level as the Minimum Income Guarantee figure when calculating your financial assessment.

How will we consult with you?

We will run a consultation process from 10 February 2025 to 5 May 2025. During this period, you will have an opportunity to tell us what you think about our proposed changes.

It will also give you the opportunity for you to make alternative suggestions if you want to.

There are lots of ways you can tell us what you think.

We will write to each person in receipt of Community Care services and include a questionnaire for you to complete and return in a freepost envelope.
You can download a questionnaire from this page if you would like to complete it and email it back to [email protected]
You can attend one of our face-to-face sessions to discuss the proposals.
You can attend one of our online sessions to discuss the proposals.

Details time, location, number of places are included on the next page:

You can book via the links on the consultation web page

or by emailing [email protected] and we will book for you.

Engagement sessions

Venue	Date and time
St John's (Thorpe Edge) Community Hub	Wednesday, 2 April, 10.30am to 11.30am
Victoria Hall (Keighley)	Friday, 4 April, 10.30am to 11.30am
Online session	Wednesday, 9 April, 12 noon to 1pm
Online session	Wednesday, 9 April, 6pm to 7pm
Grange Interlink	Tuesday, 25 February, 10.30am to 11.30am
Manningham Mills Community Centre	Wednesday, 26 February, 1.30pm to 3pm
Shipley Library	Thursday, 27 February, 2pm to 3pm
Keighley Healthy Living Centre	Tuesday, 4 March, 1.30pm to 2.30pm
City Hall	Wednesday, 5 March, 10.30am to 11.30am
Denholme Community Centre	Tuesday, 11 March, 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Queensbury Community Hub	Wednesday, 19 March, 10.30am to 11.30am
The Life Centre (Bierley)	Monday, 24 March, 10.30am to 11.30am
Sedburgh Sports Centre	Wednesday, 26 March, 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Clarke Foley Community Hub	Monday, 31 March, 10.30am to 11.30am
Thorpe Edge Community Hub	Wednesday, 2 April, 10.30am to 11.30am
Victoria Hall (Keighley)	Friday, 4 April, 10.30am to 11.30am

We can offer Independent Advocacy to support those who may have difficulty engaging with the consultation to share their views.

We will work to identify those people, but requests can also be made by phoning 01274 436464 (Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm and Friday, 9am to 4.30pm) or emailing [email protected].

Questionnaire links

You can download the questionnaire if you would like to complete it and email it back to: [email protected]