Nottingham City Council is proposing to increase charges for adult social care services – and is asking for feedback on its plans.

The City Council, like all other local authorities across the country, has seen a sustained reduction in Government funding through the Revenue Support Grant, falling from £126.8m in 2013/14 to £25.3m in 2019/20.

Reductions come at a time when the population is ageing, with more longer-term health conditions – placing more demand on adult social care services.

Currently, the City Council supports people by paying a contribution towards the cost of some of the services they receive. However, the council is now reaching a position where it can no longer afford to pay these subsidies.

This would apply to:

  • Charges for Day Care increasing from between £30 to £150 a day
  • Transport to Day Care increasing up to £20 per return journey
  • Charges for people who have support from more than one paid carer at a time

People would only be asked to contribute more money if they have sufficient savings or a level of weekly income outlined within the national policy.

The consultation on the new charges runs from 17 June 2019 and can be found online here: www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/engage-nottingham-hub/open-consultations/fairer-charging. It will close on 24 July 2019.

Cllr Adele Williams, Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport, said: “We have done all we can to try to protect people from cuts but unfortunately, in some cases, even the most vulnerable people will feel the impact of less funding coming from the Government.

“Paying subsidies to help cover the full cost of services has been an important way of supporting people in Nottingham, but we can no longer afford to do this. Where people have sufficient savings, we propose to ask them to help us meet the cost.

“This is a very difficult decision for us to make and we recognise that charging for social care services affects vulnerable people. We are therefore carrying out this consultation to ensure that everyone gets the chance to have their say.”

Letters for the consultation were sent out on 14 June 2019 to people who may be affected by these proposed changes. The consultation findings will be considered by the Council’s Executive Board in the autumn.