Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Adults and Communities which outlined current processes and procedures within the Adults and Communities Department for auditing and monitoring of personal budgets and to advise members of future plans. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed with these minutes.

The Cabinet Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Mr D W Houseman MBE CC, highlighted that the Care Act 2014 would introduce the opportunity to have direct payments for permanent residential care placements which would be introduced in 2016. He also drew attention to the proposed introduction by the County Council of direct payment cards as a mechanism for service users to receive cash payments. It was expected that the implementation of this would negate the need for service users to open a separate bank account for funds to be paid by the County Council and would reduce associated costs.

Fiona Barber, Healthwatch, suggested that training should be provided for service users who received cash payments for their personal budget to allow them to manage better their money to buy the services that they needed.

Arising from discussion members were advised as follows:-

(i)      Personal budgets allowed people to take control over the social care services that they received, better promoting independence as a key outcome. The County Council was committed to increasing the proportion of personal budgets taken as cash payments as it empowered service users to make their own choices on the support that they received and was tailored to their specific needs;

(ii)     The County Council was currently procuring for a service that would provide support to service users who wished to receive their personal budget as a cash payment. Engagement was also being undertaken with service users through a reference group which had been established to seek views from people who wished to receive cash payments to buy their support package;

(iii)    Cash payments for people in receipt of personal budgets were made every four weeks with the amount of funding provided varying according to the needs of the service user;

(iv)   Officers had recently carried out targeted reviews of cash payments involving a Provider Managed Account (PMA) which had resulted in a significant recovery of funds, £136,000 had been identified for claw back. 30 service users that had been identified as having poor cash management had been identified through the review. The Adults and Communities Department aimed to review all service users who received cash payments through a PMA annually, however, this target was not currently being met;

(v)    Surpluses accruing to service users were often due to circumstances such as a person being admitted to hospital and continuing to receive payments for services during this period. Through continuing to undertake reviews, targeted at areas of highest risk, the County Council would identify significant opportunity to reduce cash payment spend;

(vi)   The option of providing direct payment cards had recently been considered and approved by the Adults and Communities Department and would provide a different mechanism for people to receive cash payment, potentially providing significant benefits to the Council and service users. This would mean that the Council could provide the option of a direct payment card to service users which would be used to fund their support plan rather than the current requirement of a separate bank account to be opened by the service user with funds being paid in by the Council. Procurement processes were due to be begin and it was hoped that direct payment cards would be available in Leicestershire by Summer 2015;          

(vii)  Where a personal assistant was directly employed by a service user the employer was obligated under employment law to pay redundancy where a service user no longer required the employee’s services. The County Council funded these costs where appropriate;

(viii)    Cash payments to service users were provided in advance to allow them to procure the services that they required. Providers were paid one month in arrears for home care provision. Payments made to providers for residential care placements were paid two weeks in advance and two weeks in arrears through a form of reconciliation over a four week period. Providers submitted and invoiced the County Council with details of who they were supporting which the County Council would check and pay. This was a long standing arrangement undertaken by most local authorities.

RESOLVED:

That the information provided on current processes and procedures within the Adults and Communities Department for auditing and monitoring cash payments for personal budgets be noted.