Conflict of Interest in relation to Client Finance/Appointeeship and the possibility that social care charges are unlawful

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Dear London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council,

To whom it may concern

1. How many individuals is the local authority acting as an appointee for, please?

2. How many of these individuals (in area or out of area) pays adult social care charges to the council for non-residential services?

3. Which department is responsible for administering appointeeship?

4. Which department is responsible for assessing social care charges?

5. How many officers in either department carry out an overlapping role with regard to appointeeship and care charges?

6. How many times has the appointeeship team responded to a consultation on behalf of individuals or any group of benefits claimants regarding a change in the council’s charging policy, since 2015?

7. How many appeals about care charges has the appointeeship team submitted to the financial assessment team since 2015?

8. How many complaints has the appointeeship team submitted regarding care charges since 2015?

9. How many times has the appointeeship team sought or referred individuals they act for, to independent advice (whether third sector, legal aid or privately funded) about care charges, since 2015?

10. How many times has the appointeeship team questioned the accuracy, fairness or legal validity of individuals’ care charges or the council’s charging policy, since 2015?

11. Does the council treat appointeeship as a Care Act service? If so, does it charge for that as part of the Care Act charging system?

12. How much does it charge, if it makes a charge, per month or per week or per year, please?

13. If appointeeship is not provided for through the Care Act, does the council allow for a DRE deduction from Disability Benefits income, for the charge it makes for appointeeship (assuming a person is otherwise chargeable)?

14. If the council does not operate appointeeships for adult social care clients, does the council permit a full DRE deduction from Disability Benefits income, for any charge levied by any other corporate or private appointee (assuming a person is otherwise chargeable)?

15. In respect of all council clients who are currently in receipt of adult social care services, regarded as liable to pay a charge for their adult social care services, for whom the appointee role is currently undertaken - how is the relevant department holding the appointeeship responsibility proposing to manage the conflict of interest presented by the judgment in the Norfolk CC v SH case in December 2020, given that the decision means that other similar policies are presumptively unlawful? Please answer with a sentence or a paragraph; it is suggested that it is not a proper response to say that no decisions have been made, as yet, because the problem already exists.

Regards
Belinda Schwehr, CEO, CASCAIDr. www.CASCAIDr.org.uk

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council

Information request
Our reference: 19360998

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Dear Belinda Schwehr
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 22 March
2021.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 21 April 2021.
  
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Yours faithfully
 
 
FOI Team
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council

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Information request
Our reference: 19360998

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Dear Belinda Schwehr
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 22 March 2021.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours faithfully
 
 
FOI Team
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.