Challenge respite charges

Challenge The Council

Part 1

UPDATED 4th April 2012

THIS PART APPLIES WHEN THE DISABLED PERSON HAS ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE CHARGES

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Councils nationally can make charges for respite care, when disabled adults, go into care to give the carer a break.

They charge under the “Crags” section of the Fairer Charging Policy implemented in April 2003. Charges for respite can be made against the disabled person on income support. Basic Benefit + income support minus their personal allowance leaving them with on average £78 to live on. This can be used for charging minus their expenditure incurred at home while they are in respite.

Councils should deduct allowances for all their expenditure that occurs at home while they are in respite. Some councils are charging the full £78. If you are a carer, you must write and challenge this.

Other councils allow you as expenditure their share of the council tax if there are three people in the home. Their share of house insurance and contents and their share of the water rates. -

Write to the council and if applicable ask for the following to be deducted as expenditure of the family home while they are in respite.

Their share of the council tax divided by the number of people living in the house. This has to be paid while they are in respite this could be £6.

Their share of the water rates this could be £2 – 50.

Their share for the House and Contents Insurance this could be £1 -50.

Their share of the rent or board their contribution to living at home. A modest £25 per week is more than fair. This should be allowed!

Try ringing the council and saying I’m going on holiday deduct my rent and council tax. They won’t do it and neither should you.

Their share of the telephone standing charge £2

Their share of the television licence fee £1

Their share of the standard charge for electric £1

Their share of the standard charge for gas £1

Ask the council to deduct those legitimate charges of the respite bill and if they refuse ask them to explain in detail why they are refusing them when those bills arise while the disabled person is in respite this could reduce the bill from £78 – £40 = £38 to pay per week -

Challenge respite charges

Part 11

THIS PART APPLIES WHEN THE DISABLED PERSON ON INCOME SUPPORT DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE CHARGES

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Under the Crags section of Fairer Charging Policy the guidelines clearly states, that all charges for respite must be paid by the disabled person on income support themselves, never the carer, if you feel that you are the one facing the bills for their respite charges, write to the council and tell them all their benefits have been used up and you are subsidising the disabled adult out of your own pocket.

You should not as carer face the bill. The charge should be free. Every council in the country are breaching Community Care Law on 3 counts charging a disabled adult on income support when his benefits have been used up. When the disabled adult can’t afford to pay councils charges they compel the carer to pay when the charge should be free. Charging transport unlawfully to a disabled adult who pays all his benefits for a mobility vehicle they can only take the charge on the mobility component of DLA as it is used up the charge should be free.

Tell the council them your disabled adult has £78 or whatever their benefit statement states to live on.

Deduct the day centre charges for meals, drinks and transport

Rotherham’s subsidised meals are £4 – 20 + £2 drinks and £5 for transport = £28 this leaves £50 to live on

You weekly provide the other meals 3×7=21 – 5 = 16 meals (Not £4 – 20) but at £3 per meal to include snacks = £48 you have £2 left to pay £8 for their drinks £25 small contribution to their rent / board. Carer has paid £31

Contribution to their council tax £6. £10 for their share of the gas and electric bills £2 – 50 for their share of the water rates £1 for share of television license £2 – 50 share of telephone £1 – 50 contents and house insurance. Carer pays £23 – 50 + £31 = £54 – 50

Carers contribution out of their own pocket £54 – 50 or the figure that applies to you. If you have 7 weeks respite you pay £54 – 50 x 45 weeks = £2452 out of pocket. Plus you provide their round the clock care for nothing. Should the council query your figures if the carer has to pay directly or indirectly even £1 of the council charges Community Care Law has been breached therefore the charges should be free.

All Councils are blatantly breaking Community Care Law I recommend once you have proved the disabled adults benefits are used up refuse to pay those charges and ask the council to provide a list for full time care for your disabled adult. This is your right and the council must provide the care and it is free. Never cancel your repite. Don’t pay the council charges when the carer has to pay it is unlawful. The council have a choice with your disabled adult charge you a few hundred pounds or pay out up to £100,000 a year in full time care. There is no compulsion to care. You give of your life to care. You care for nothing. You are not going to pay for the privilege.

Therefore if a carer looks after a disabled person without respite he could be up to £2452 out of pocket over the year. With respite they would be £2452 out of pocket + £600 respite charges = £3052 out of pocket this conclusively proves that the carer is paying the respite charge and not as the law states the charge must be made by the disabled person not the carer. Therefore the charge to the carer is unlawful. A child of 5 would know it is impossible to look after a disabled adult on income support who costs £2000 a week in care on £200 benefits and pay council charges I challenge any Government or Council official on this!

So theirs should be no charge. However if the councils try to alter those figures if the carer can just prove all the disabled persons benefits are used up + £1 the service must be free. Councils know very little about Community Care Law or their assessments of the disabled adults on income support would not be faced with those charges. I have nearly 40 years experience of being a carer and helped to implement the Fairer Charging Policy that became law in April 2003 with Mencap. Because some greedy councils charged £50 out of carers DLA of £60 to attend a day centre for 35 hours leaving the carer with £10 to look after their disabled adult for the other 133 hours. I recommend to carers give the council the other £10 and let them look after their disabled adult in full time carer.

This is the reason that I totally agree with Carers UK who maintain that there should be an automatic exemption from charges for any disabled person who is in receipt of income support. If the government implements this they could save thousands of disabled people being put into full time care by carers put below the poverty line.

So challenge your council on those charges refuse to pay them they are unlawful under Community Care Law and together we can get a fair deal for carers on respite charges!. If the Council insist on you paying use the Councils full time care.Let the Council do the 168 hours of caring

People are dying in poverty but carers are living in it!

If you are one of them and you get a negative reply back from the council after telling them you are wrongly being faced with respite bills, don’t feel guilty about writing to the council saying you can no longer afford to look after your disabled adult on income support at home. You should ask them to tell you what they have available in full time care.

This is a right, caring is not compulsory. The more people who look into full time care at an average cost of £75,000 a year the quicker the government and your council will come to their senses.

Your other alternative is seek legal advise as stated by Mencap in their letter to me from a community care solicitor. Should a carer hire a mobility vehicle that uses up all the disabled adults mobility component of his DLA and the council charge you for transport to take the disabled adult to a day centre or any activity this breaches Community Care Law as the transport charge must come of their mobility allowance this has already been used up refuse to pay this charge and ask the Council to repay you all the money you have paid while you have had a mobility vehicle. This transport charge has been made by the carer this is unlawful.

How important is a carer ?

Do you know that normally someone leaves school at 16 and works a 40 hour week until they retired at 65.

Carers of profoundly disabled adults on income support with special needs who give round the clock care 168 hours a week would have worked enough hours to retire at 28. So a lifetime’s work as a carer can be achieved in 12 years. If you, like some council directors take early retirement you could retire at age 26.

Unfortunately carers who look after a disabled person from the cradle to the grave have no retirement. Carers care for free. Do you know that 1000 honours are given out twice a year.

But an outstanding carer of a family member who dedicates their life to caring round the clock, night and day who save the country 93 billion pounds do not qualify for consideration !

I have written to the Queen and David Cameron to point this out. His department said they will look into this situation. Till then those honours will be given out to singers who sing a few songs and earn millions of pounds a year! Most of the people who get an honour are millionaires.

GEORGE VALENTINE

CAMPAIGNER AND ACTIVIST FOR THE RIGHTS

OF DISABLED ADULTS AND THEIR CARERS