Power of the Local Authority to Charge
1. What Care and Support/Support Services can be charged?
Under section 14 of the Care Act 2014 the Local Authority may charge for any Care and Support/Support services it provides unless unless the service is of a type excluded from charges or the person belongs to a class of people for whom charges may not be made.
Services where a charge cannot be made are;
- Intermediate care and reablement services for a period of up to 6 weeks;
- Aids and minor adaptations (up to the value of £1000);
- After-care services/support provided under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Neither can charges be made for carrying out an assessment, Care and Support/Support planning, reviews or for advocacy.
Although the Care Act enables each Local Authority to make a charge for services, this is a power and not a duty. This means that charging is done at the discretion of each Local Authority who can apply some flexibility in developing its own policy about when and how it does so.
Although the Local Authority has discretion in the way it applies charges, it is prohibited from providing financial assistance to some people who are provided with accommodation in a care home; the Local Authority may not pay towards the cost of that accommodation if the person has resources above the financial limit. In this case, the Local Authority is required to charge the person the full cost.
2. Who can be charged for Care and Support/Support Services?
Who cannot be charged
A person with a diagnosis of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease cannot be charged for Care and Support provided under the Care Act. As at 2023, this is the only class of people who are exempted from charges but there is provision for other classes of people to be added.
Who can be charged
Anyone else receiving a Care and Support/Support service may be charged. However, this is subject to a means test.
See Assessment of Financial Resources.
It doesn't matter if a person lacks capacity to understand the financial assessment process or to make a contribution-they can still be charged.
Where a person is receiving Care and Support services that benefit a carer (for example respite or day services), the person must be charged for the services as they are the one receiving it.
Who cannot be charged
The only person with Care and Support needs who cannot be charged under the Care Act is a person with a diagnosis of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.3. How much can a Person be charged?
The Care Act is clear about services that cannot be charged for but does not specify how much the Local Authority can or should charge a person or carer in a particular circumstance or for a particular service. The Local Authority is able to determine its own policy about charging provided that it complies with the requirements of the Act and the associated Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014.
The Act and the Regulations set a:
- Minimum Income Guaranteed Amount -the minimum amount that it sees a person living in the community or a carer as needing for daily living expenses;
- Personal Allowance Amount- the minimum amount that it sees a person living in a care home as needing for daily living expenses; and a
- National Financial Limit- the amount of capital at which a person or carer is deemed to be able to meet the full cost of the services to meet their Care and Support/Support needs.
When determining how much to charge, the Act and Regulations specify that:
- The Local Authority must not charge in a manner that means a person or carer will not have income remaining that is equal to or exceeds the Minimum Income Guaranteed Amount or the Personal Allowance Amount; and
- The Local Authority does not contribute towards the cost of accommodation in a care home where the person’s resources exceed the National Financial Limit.
The Care and Support Statutory Guidance also sets out the important principle that a person must not be charged more than they can reasonably afford to pay. In some cases, this will mean that the person cannot be charged or that the charges must be reduced because of the individual circumstances of that person.
In line with the judgment in SH, R (On the Application Of) v Norfolk County Council & Anor [2020] EWHC 3436, when exercising its power to charge, the Local Authority should be mindful that its policy does not unlawfully discriminate (inadvertently or otherwise) by having a disproportionate detrimental impact on severely disabled people when compared with the impact on others.
4. Charges for Self Funders
If, following a financial assessment a person or carer is found to have sufficient financial resources to meet the full cost of their Care and Support/Support services the Local Authority may decide that it does not need to provide them with any services because they could arrange and pay for those services themselves. If it does decide to provide Care and Support services, the Local Authority has the power to charge them the full cost. In doing so, the Local Authority may not charge the person more than the cost to the Local Authority of providing the services.
Where the Local Authority has decided that there is no need for it to provide services, the Care Act still requires them to do so if the person asks them to do so and the Care and Support is not provided in a care home. In that situation, the Local Authority is also able to make an administration charge but this cannot exceed the cost to the Local Authority of putting those arrangements in place.
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