Paying more for care
Wiltshire Council's Conservative cabinet has approved changes which will mean people paying more for the care they receive.
A consultation on the changes started in March and will finish on 6 June.
Unlike health services which are free at the point of access, adult social care support is means-tested.
The changes will only impact on customers who contribute towards care services in their own home and will not affect those contributing towards care in a permanent residential care setting.
The proposed changes:
- To take into account 100% of disposable income - the council currently only takes into account 80% of disposable income.
- To take the full rate of attendance allowance into account when assessing how much people need to contribute - the council currently only takes the lower rate into account even if the individual receives the higher amount.
- To update the list of allowable Disability Related Expenses (DRE). DRE items are things people have to spend money on as a result of a disability or illness and are disregarded when calculating how much people may have to contribute.
People who are likely to be affected by any changes were contacted via letter to set out the proposals and encourage them to get involved. In addition to these individual letters a series of public meetings have been facilitated by Healthwatch Wiltshire.
The consultation survey can be found on the council's website:
People can also contact the council or Healthwatch Wiltshire (01225 434218) to request paper copies of the survey, pose individual questions or organise one to one meetings.