Easy read Adult Social Care Charging Policy Review

To check if Torbay's charges for adult social care are fair.

To follow the rules of the Care Act 2014, Equality Act 2010, and human rights laws

To see if we need to make any changes to our policy, after a court case about social care charges in Norfolk

Norfolk County Council changed how they charge people with higher-rate disability benefits.

These changes Norfolk made meant that people on higher-rate disability benefits had to pay a lot more for their care.

The court said this was unfair to people with severe disabilities.

Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG): is the amount of money which you need to keep each week, to pay for your day-to-day living costs.

Personal Independence Payments (PIP): How we treat this income when calculating charges.

Disability-Related Expenses (DRE): How we handle costs people might have due to their disabilities.

Financial Impact: How changes would affect our budget.

Torbay’s budget for adult social care is limited. We need to spend it as wisely as we can, it in a way which is fair to everyone.

Costs are rising because more people need care, and the cost of care is going up.

We need to make savings where we can, so that we can keep providing services to as many people as possible.

Some income is not counted when deciding charges, like some disability benefits.

The Minimum Income Guarantee ensures people keep enough money to live on after paying for care.

Extra support is given to young adults and carers to make sure they are treated fairly.

This is the lowest amount of money you should have left to live on, after paying for care.

In Torbay we apply the following rates:

• Adults aged 18-24: Higher rate to avoid age discrimination.
• Adults aged 25 and over: Statutory minimum rates.
• Adults with disabilities: Higher rate to ensure they have enough to live on.

This is money to help with extra costs if you have a long-term health condition or disability.

The Mobility element of PIP is not counted as income when working out care charges.

These are extra costs you have because of your disability or condition.

In Torbay we consider these costs when calculating your care charges to make sure you're not unfairly charged.

Reducing charges would help people keep more of their money.

But it would also reduce the money available for services, leading to cuts in other services.

Keeping the current policy helps balance fair charges and enough money to run services.

We should keep checking and reviewing the policy to ensure it remains fair.

We must consider financial sustainability to avoid harming overall service provision.