Norfolk County Council cabinet to consider reducing adult social care charges for those in own home

Norfolk County Council's cabinet is set to consider proposals to change the way that people are charged for adult social care services while living in their own home.

The authority currently applies a higher level of Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) than the Government's rates for people aged 18 to pension age who receive non-residential care services.

The MIG is the minimum amount of income that someone is left with after paying for their care.

The council consulted on two options to bring the MIG in line with the Government's rates which, if adopted, would save the council more than £1million each year.

Cllr Andrew Jamieson, cabinet member for finance, said: "We are facing unprecedented financial challenges as demand and costs continue to rise, and a long-term funding settlement from central government remains uncertain.

“We must consider these proposals in light of our responsibility to balance our budget and provide statutory services to people in Norfolk.”

Cllr Alison Thomas, cabinet member for adult social care, added: “We have listened carefully to the views and concerns of the people who responded to the consultation and we will take them into account when we make our decision.

“We will also consider the recommendations from the scrutiny committee and the findings of the equality impact assessment. We recognise that any change to the charging policy will have a meaningful impact on those affected.”

The consultation on the proposals ran from February 19 to May 17 and received 546 responses. The council has also carried out an equality impact assessment, which highlighted the potential impact on those affected.

The measures are being considered as part of savings that the council needs to make to balance its budget for 2024/25. Its medium-term financial projections show a £188million budget shortfall over the period of 2025-2029.

The council's scrutiny committee considered the proposals at a meeting on July 17, and made a number of recommendations to cabinet which will be considered when it meets next Monday (August 5).

Councillors are being asked to consider the findings of the equality impact assessment, the consultation report, the council’s financial position and the recommendations from scrutiny.

Finally, councillors are being asked to adopt either option one, option two, or ask officers to find alternative savings proposals that would add to the existing £88.250million of adult social care savings targets.