Supporting People

1
Supporting People Extra Care In Salford

• 8th June 2005
• Julie Dodd - Supporting People Team
• Sharon Robinson - Charging Assessment Team

2
Supporting People - implementation

• Programme to deliver housing-related support
• Introduced April 2003 replaced Transitional HB
• HB regulations defined what THB could pay for
• 3-year implementation period of opportunity
• Existing services remodelled
• New services developed
• Community Care was paying for some support
• (accused of cost shunting!)

3
Supporting People Steady State

• Partnership
• Housing
• Social Services
• Health
• Probation
• Commissioning Body joint commissioning
• Core Strategy Group direction and priorities
• Service reviews strategic relevance, quality,
  VFM
• Commissioning/Decommissioning/Remodelling
• Fixed budget, access other funding sources
• Payments

4
What can Supporting People pay for?

• ODPM grant conditions
• What is housing-related support?
• Local eligibility criteria vary
• Task-based v Outcomes-based
• SP should help people to successfully live
  independently

5
Housing-related support
6
Supporting People services
7
Paying for Support

• Short-term services (up to 2 years)
• No charge to service users
• Long-term services
• Service users are liable to pay a support charge
• Should be identified separately from rent
• Charge should be the amount as per SP contract
• Support services are free for anyone on Housing
  Benefit
• People not on Housing Benefit can apply for
  Fairer Charging

8
Extra Care Issues

• Long-term service so support charges apply
• Support services provided to all but
• personal care services provided only to some
• Service tailored to needs
• Needs are as individual as people
• People tap in
• Distinguishing between care and support
• Measuring how much care and support
• How to assess and collect charges

9
Extra Care Review Group - Remit

• What should be funded by SP, what falls under
  Community Care?
• Activities where guidance is unclear
• How care/support split is reflected in dependency
  levels
• Application of Charging Policy (Care Support
  Agreement)
• Any other issues the group identified
• How to move to the desired position

10
CareSupport split

• Holistic approach to eligibility
• What is definitely not support?
• Task list to structure care and support plan
  (handout)
• Grey areas
• 24 hour cover, Waking nights, Moving people to
  activities
• Notional percentage split
• The problem with care plans
• 3 dependency levels - whats the difference
  between them?
• Enabling takes longer than doing
• Low 100 support
• Medium 60 support
• High 40 support
• Cost calculated on rolled up cost, maximum
  occupancy at desired profile

11
Charging Policy Issues

• Services provided according to assessed need
• No opting out
• No Direct Payments
• 3rd party carers
• Optional service charges (laundry, cleaning,
  lunches)
• Maximum charges
• Start and end date of charges
• Temporary absence
• Transitional Protection
• Reassessment of need

12
Assessing Charges tenants onHousing Benefit

• Entitled to Supporting People Subsidy to pay for
  their support
• Fill in a Housing Benefit consent form with the
  provider
• This is sent to the Supporting People Team
• alerts SP team that someone needs support charge
  paying
• Authorises SP Team to look at Housing Benefit
  claim
• Avoids the service user having to prove they are
  getting HB
• Payment sent direct to CSSD
• Care charges for those in medium or high
  dependency assessed according to councils Fairer
  Charging Policy

13
Assessing charges tenants not on Housing Benefit

• Maybe income too high, savings too high, or an
  owner-occupier
• Assessment of charge for care and support under
  Councils policy
• One assessment produces one charge for both care
  and support
• Request forms available from provider and sent to
  the SP Team
• For those in medium/high level dependency,
  referral from CSSD
• Assessment by specialist charging assessor at
  home
• Policy based on national Fairer Charging guidance
• Assessor looks at income, savings, housing costs,
  disability-related expenses and also carries out
  a benefit check
• The charge is calculated there and then using
  software

14
Salfords Fairer Charging policy

• Charging must not leave a persons income below
  Income Support 25
• We dont apply an upper capital limit (no cliff
  edge!)
• We dont count
• Earnings or work-related tax credits
• War Pensions
• DLA (mobility component)
• We do count
• Pensions
• Income Support
• Disability benefits (except Mobility)
• We knock off
• housing costs and disability-related spending
• We only charge 75 of available income

15
Sharing Information

• Information for Service Users
• Care Support Agreement
• Providers Welcome Pack
• HB consent form
• Fairer Charging request form
• Fairer Charging leaflets
• Scheme visits
• Consultation
• Customer satisfaction research
• Published Charging Policy
• Appeals policy

• Internal Information Sharing
• Referral routes
• Shared IT systems
• Fairer Charging Calculator
• Client details spreadsheet

16
Julie Dodd Sharon Robinson Supporting
People Team Charging Assessor SupervisorHousing
Services Community Social ServicesSalford
City Council Salford City CouncilCrompton
House 2 Police Street100 Chorley
Road SalfordSwinton M27 6ES M6 6PL0161 922
8766 0161 736 7792Julie.Dodd_at_salford.gov.uk Sha
ron.Robinson_at_salford.gov.uk