MCC’s social services chief defends costs described as ‘criminal’ by service user
Abergavenny Chronicle - 12th February 2004

Laura Pike reports

A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer from Abergavenny has slammed Monmouthshire County Council’s decision to increase the cost of home care, saying she would rather go to jail than pay the new fee reports Laura Pike .

Widow Gillian James, aged 67, of Pegasus Court, used to receive five hours of home help each week at a cost of £8 but under the new charges, agreed by councillors at a meeting of Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet last week, this will rise to £40 - an increase of 500 per cent.

The revised charging policy forms part of recent Welsh Assembly Government guidance, which states a new and fairer system needs to be in place by April 1.

This system will be based upon units of service received at a price of £8 per unit, which equates to one hour of home care and one half day session of day care.

In a report presented to last week’s cabinet meeting, Tracey Harry, head of resources and performance management, said the idea of using one price was to ‘ease administration costs and avoid confusion for clients who retrieve mixed packages of care’.

She also said the amount people paid under the policy would depend upon what they could afford and the amount of service used, determined by a financial assessment.

“As a result, some service users may end up being charged more for their services, while others may have their charges reduced or removed altogether,” said Ms Harry.

“The level of income at which people will no longer be charged will increase by 25 per cent, according to personal circumstances, and the maximum anybody will have to pay is £150 per week.”

Users who receive an income of less than £181.31 per week will automatically be exempt from paying. In a bid to consult users of both homecare and day services, Monmouthshire County Council sent out a total of 1,300 consultation leaflets with 148 of the 220 feedback forms received saying the new charges were ‘too high’.

Mrs James, a former Abergavenny Town Councillor who has suffered with multiple sclerosis for over 25 years, described the policy as ‘criminal’.

“I will go to jail before I pay £8 an hour,” she said.

“I think the charges are disgusting and criminal. What is the point of saving all your life if you have to pay for it in your old age? “What annoys me even more is that people who have not bothered to save are now getting their care for free.

“We have been well and truly shafted by a council which is attempting to recuperate its overspend by introducing ridiculous fees.

“The whole system stinks and I think Monmouthshire County Council needs to seriously reconsider its decision so that it gets its priorities on care and the disabled into perspective,” she said.

Mrs James said she had been inundated with phone calls from other worried residents who are ‘too frail and too old to speak up for themselves’.

She also questioned the council’s public consultation process, saying she knew nothing about the proposals until she contacted County Hall.

Monmouthshire County Council’s director of social and housing services, said the proposals, which would bring Monmouthshire in line with the rest of England and Wales, were ‘all about fairness’. “Adopting these pro posals will help us to make sure that people using our social services are charged according to their ability to pay,” he said.

“They are not about balancing local author ity budgets, as has been suggested in some quarters.

“Many people would say the only fairer charging is no charging but in reality this is not the case. The idea of fairer charging unfortunately does not mean simpler charging”.

Related articles:

12th Feb` 04 - MCC’s social services chief defends costs described as ‘criminal’ by service user
11th Mar` 04 - Former councillor fears she will end up in hospital if her care package is cut

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