A guide to what you should expect to pay from 4 July 2011
How do we work out how much you will have to pay?
Does everyone have to pay for their services?
What if you have savings?
What else do we look at when working out your charges?
How much will you pay?
What if you disagree with the amount we ask you to pay?
What happens if your financial circumstances or care need change?
What if you don't receive services for a period?
What if you cannot afford to pay?
How can you pay?
Are you satisfied with our help?
Fairer contributions policy for personal budgets.pdf (90.1kb)
Fairer charging policy.pdf (129.8kb)
We will carry out a financial assessment. We will ask you to give us details of your financial circumstances. This will include details of your income, outgoings, and capital. Examples of these are given below:
Income
This could be your:
It does not include any earned income such as wages.
Outgoings
Your outgoings are money going out such as rent, mortgage, council tax and water rates. We will need to see evidence of these costs.
Capital
The capital we look at is the money that you have. This could be:
It does not include the value of your home. Alternatively, you can see our financial assessment leaflet.pdf (292.4kb)
We will then use these details to work out your assessable income, and the amount of money that you may have to pay for services. The assessable income is the amount you have left after taking away your outgoings and any disability related costs.
There is a form that you will need to complete. This gives us details of your financial circumstances. A Financial Assessment Officer will help you fill this in.
As a general guide, you will not have to pay anything for your care or housing support costs if you have an income that is less than the basic level of income support plus 25% (see examples below).
These figures will change every year.
Disability related costs
You will be allowed £10 per week to cover costs that arise as a result of your disability. This will be added to your outgoings and reduces the amount of income you can be charged on. If you feel your costs are higher than £10 per week you can ask for an individual disability related expenditure assessment. Here, you will be asked to show evidence of all expenses, such as, receipts and invoices over a period of time. We will take these into account when working out your charge.
The amount you pay will be calculated from your financial assessment. Our current charges are:
The maximum charge of £200 per week, or the amount your service costs us (if this is less) will apply in the following circumstances:
If your capital is less than £23,250 or (£46,500 if you are a couple), we will look at:
In these circumstances you will be charged £11.72 per hour for any care at home services you receive. The charge for day care services will be based on the cost of the place in the day centre you choose. We will not charge you more than the maximum assessable income you have or the maximum charge of £200 (whichever applies to you).
If you are a couple we will assess you:
We will look at the results for both of these assessments. The amount you will be asked to pay for your services will be based on the assessment that suits your household the best.
Whatever your circumstances are, we will not ask you to pay more than your service costs us. We will tell you how much your service costs when we arrange it for you.
If you have any questions about this please contact the Reconciliation Team using the details below.
If you are unhappy with the financial assessment, please contact our Reconciliation Team on 0191 211 6467, or write to us at:
Newcastle City Council
Adult Services Directorate
Reconciliation Team
Civic Centre
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8PA
If your financial circumstances, care needs or housing support needs change please contact your social worker so that we can reassess how much you pay. If there is a change to your charge, our Reconciliation Team will tell you. In the case of Supporting People services your landlord or service provider will tell you.
You will only pay for services you receive. If you do not receive any services for a while, for example, if you are in hospital, then you do not pay.
If you think that you cannot afford to pay, please contact you social worker straight away. Your social worker will talk with you about why you cannot pay your charge. If you do not pay, we will look at other ways of recovering the money from you.
We will send you a monthly invoice that you can pay:
In person at:
Cheque payment by post
Please make cheques payable to 'Newcastle City Council', write the invoice number on the cheque and send to:
Newcastle City Council
Civic Centre
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE99 2PT.
Payment by cash only
You can pay at any Pay Point, but you must take your invoice with you. You can phone the Reconciliation Team on 0191 211 6467 for a list of Pay Points. You can also phone 0191 277 8823 or go to www.paypoint.co.uk for more information.
Direct Debit
If you have a bank or building society account you can pay by Direct Debit. Please phone the Reconciliation Team on 0191 211 6467 who will send you a form.
By debit or credit card
Please phone our Reconciliation Team on 0191 211 6467. We will transfer you to our payment line.
How often should you pay?
You will be invoiced every four weeks for the services you receive. Charges are usually six weeks behind. This is because we need to wait for information from your provider on the services you have received and then work out your charge. We will print the dates of the care you are being charged for on your invoice.
For Supporting People services only
If you receive long-term welfare services under Supporting People, we will only carry out a financial assessment if you do not receive Housing Benefit. If you receive Housing Benefit on your rent you will not have to pay for your services.
You will only be allowed disability related costs if you are receiving disability benefits such as Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance.
If you get Supporting People services, you will have agreed to pay a fixed weekly charge when you moved in or signed up to the service. If the financial assessment says that you must pay part or all of this charge, you will have to pay it from the time you started getting the service.
If your financial circumstances or housing support needs change, please contact your social worker so that we can reassess how much you pay. If there is a change to your charge, your landlord or service provider will tell you.
If you don't receive services for a period you will normally continue to pay until you give up your tenancy, or end the service.
If you think that you cannot afford to pay, please contact your service provider, or your social worker if you have one, straight away.
More information about Supporting People Services.
If you want to know more about your charges, contact our Reconciliation Team on 0191 211 6467.
If you have any queries about your care at home or day care services, you can contact our Adult Social Care Direct Team.
If you want to know more about long term Supporting People services phone the Supporting People Team on 0191 211 6477.
Financial assessments leaflet.pdf (292.2kb)
We want you to be satisfied with our help, and need you to tell us if we are succeeding. We would like your comments on our services and your suggestions for the future.
Page last updated: 16 August, 2011
