People needing social care in Cambridgeshire could find themselves facing huge increases in the contributions they are expected to pay, after Conservative councillors at Shire Hall voted through a set of proposals to be put to the public for consultation.

The online consultation is now open here [link] and runs until 23 February.

The council’s current policy on charging people for social care is called the Fairer Contributions Policy. The proposals put forward would change this policy in four ways.

1. 1. 1. The council would take into account the higher ‘enhanced rate’ of PIP (Personal Independence Payments) when calculating contributions for non-residential services. At the moment, the council disregards the difference between the standard and higher rate of PIP when calculating people’s income. The worked example the council has given shows someone’s contribution rising from £9.75 a week to £37.20 a week under this proposal, but individual circumstances vary and the increase for different individuals could presumably be higher or lower.
      2. The council would charge people for short-term respite accommodation under residential rules, rather than the non-residential rules they use at the moment. This would mean no longer disregarding disability related expenditure and a personal allowance when assessing income. The worked example the council has given shows someone’s contribution for respite accommodation rising from £15.85 a week to an eye-watering £122.35 a week.
      3. The council would charge people for managing their income and paying their bills, a service it currently offers for some vulnerable adults who cannot manage their own money and have no family to do this for them.  This service is currently offered free of charge, but under these proposals a charge would be made of £10 a week for residential service users or £12.50 a week for non-residential service users. This charge would apply for anyone with more than £1,000 in the bank.
      4. Finally, the council would make direct debit the default way for service users to pay adult social care invoices. A person would have to set up a direct debit facility before receiving services.

Some of these proposed increases are absolutely enormous and could make life even more difficult for individuals and families who are already struggling.