Overview
All people in England receiving Adult Social Care services should expect to pay for their care and support. You should expect to pay towards the cost of support services unless your assets, savings, and income are very low.
Care and support is not a free service like the NHS. The Care Act 2014 provides a single legal framework and sets out a clear approach to charging for care and support. The Act gives the Council the power to charge for care and support, but they cannot charge for services which the regulations say must always be free, for example;
- Intermediate care, including reablement, which must be provided free of charge for up to 6 weeks
- Community equipment (aids and minor adaptations). Aids must be provided free of charge whether provided to meet or prevent/delay needs. A minor adaptation is one costing £1,000 or less
- Care and support provided to people with Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease
- After-care services and support provided under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983
- Any service or part of service which the NHS is under a duty to provide. This includes Continuing Healthcare and the NHS contribution to Registered Nursing Care. You can find out more about eligibility for this on the NHS Continuing Healthcare web page.
Adult Social Care charging policy
The Council have a Charging Policy for Adult Social Care services which provides more information on the Councils approach to charging, and this is reviewed annually. You can view the policy below:
You can request a paper copy of this by contacting the Council on 0151 443 2600 or by visiting your local Knowsley Library and requesting a copy.
Following your social care needs assessment, and providing it is agreed that the Council will be arranging your care and support, the Council will contact you to arrange a financial assessment. This will be carried out by the Financial Assessment and Charging Team. The team will also provide advice and information on benefits you might be able to get to help with your living costs.
Your support will start when you need it. The financial assessment may take place after the support begins. You will be expected to pay from the day your care and support starts. Therefore, you may receive an initial bill where charges have been applied and backdated to the date the support started.