Care Charging

The request was successful.

Dear Kingston upon Thames Borough Council,

Please answer the following questions, or as many as is possible within time & cost parameters starting at #1.
1. How do you calculate the level of contribution that adult social care recipients should make to their care packages?
2. What income are social care recipients allowed to retain, after their contribution to their care package has been deducted?
3. What do you allow as Disability Related Expenses? Please provide a copy of your guidance if this is easier.
4. Do you use pre-payment cards for care payments? If yes can people opt out of using these?
5. Are there any restrictions on what Personal Budgets and Direct Payments can be spent on? Please provide a copy of your guidance on this.
6. Please provide a copy of the guidance document that your authority uses to make decisions on Direct Payment packages.
7. Do you have a contingency policy for DP users. If yes please attach a copy.
8. If a PA is off work sick do you provide extra funding to cover their sick pay – as individual employers can no longer get statutory sick pay reimbursed?
9. "What percentage of Direct Payments rates, that are paid to adults who directly employ their own PAs, are allowed to be spent on the following additional expenses?"
• National insurance employer contributions
• Statutory paid holidays
• Payroll charges
• Independent living insurance
• Advertising
• National Minimum Wage increase from April 2016
• Redundancy payments
• Pensions
• Training
• Contingency funding

Yours faithfully,

Ian Burnip

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(https://www.kingston.gov.uk/info/200281/...)

Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Burnip,  

 

 

Freedom Of Information Request

 

 

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Your request has been processed under the job number CAS-1060050 and a
response will be sent to you within twenty working days as defined by the
Act. We estimate the due date to be 28^th February 2017.

 

 

 

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Freedom of Information Team 

Royal Borough of Kingston

[1]http://www.kingston.gov.uk

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-------------------------------------------

From: Ian Burnip [[2][email address]]

Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2017 4:55:56 PM

To: FOI

Subject: Freedom of Information request - Care Charging Auto forwarded by
a Rule

 

Dear Kingston upon Thames Borough Council,

 

Please answer the following questions, or as many as is possible within
time & cost parameters starting at #1.

1. How do you calculate the level of contribution that adult social care
recipients should make to their care packages?

2. What income are social care recipients allowed to retain, after their
contribution to their care package has been deducted?

3. What do you allow as Disability Related Expenses? Please provide a copy
of your guidance if this is easier.

4. Do you use pre-payment cards for care payments? If yes can people opt
out of using these?

5. Are there any restrictions on what Personal Budgets and Direct Payments
can be spent on? Please provide a copy of your guidance on this.

6. Please provide a copy of the guidance document that your authority uses
to make decisions on Direct Payment packages.

7. Do you have a contingency policy for DP users. If yes please attach a
copy.

8. If a PA is off work sick do you provide extra funding to cover their
sick pay – as individual employers can no longer get statutory sick pay
reimbursed?

9. "What percentage of Direct Payments rates, that are paid to adults who
directly employ their own PAs, are allowed to be spent on the following
additional expenses?"

• National insurance employer contributions • Statutory paid holidays •
Payroll charges • Independent living insurance • Advertising • National
Minimum Wage increase from April 2016 • Redundancy payments • Pensions •
Training • Contingency funding

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Ian Burnip

 

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Karen Fenwick, Kingston upon Thames Borough Council

Dear Mr Burnip,
I am responding to your recent FOI request.
Please see the response to your specific questions below:-
1.  This is completed in accordance with the Council's charging policy for
non residential care services.
2.  This is dependent on the age and living circumstances of the service
user.  Amounts disregarded are made in accordance with the Care and
Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014.
3.  This is in accordance with annex paragraph of the Care and Support
Statutory Guidance.
4.  The Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK) Adult Social Care (ASC) is going
through a procurement process to introduce a Pre-Paid card service.  This
will not be mandatory.
5.  Direct Payments cannot be spent on anything not identified in the
Support Plan or on drugs or alcohol, gambling, any illegal activity or
household expenses including utility bills, clothing, food etc.
6.  Attached is a copy of the Assessment and Support procedure.
7.  Details of the contingency guidance are in the Assessment and Support
procedure.
8.  The Council would give additional funding to cover SSP allowance after
the first 7 days of sickness absence and upon production of a doctor's
certificate.
9.  These additional costs are not part of the hourly rate paid to PAs but
are added in to the budget depending upon need and eligibility.  All PAs
receive holiday pay, with training provided free through the Direct
Payment Support Service in Kingston or accessed through Skills for Care
funding.  There is a block contract Employer Liability Insurance in place
(funded by the Council), although if service users do not wish to use this
company they would be given additional funding in their budget to purchase
this insurance.

If you have any concerns or queries about the handling of your enquiry
then please contact the Records Manager & Data Protection Officer, Royal
Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, High Street, Kingston-upon-Thames KT11EU,
telephone 020 8547 5757, Email: [1][email address].

Further Information on the Act is available from the Information
Commissioner at:-

 

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone:   01625 545 700

[2]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

.Kind regards,

Karen Fenwick
Complaints and Information Access Officer

Adult & Children's Social Care
Royal Borough of Kingston, Strategic Business
3rd Floor, Guildhall, KT1 1EU  

Telephone:   020 8547 4716
Fax:                  020 8547 6148
email:              [3][email address]

Disclaimers apply, for full details see :
(https://www.kingston.gov.uk/info/200281/...)

References

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