Financial assessment and arranging your care

If you are unable to meet the cost of your care, the council will assess your financial circumstances to see if it is able to contribute any money towards this.

There are different financial thresholds depending on whether you are receiving care in your own home or are moving into a care home. If your capital and savings are above these thresholds, you will need to pay the full cost of your care and support.

Care in your own home

If you have capital or savings of more than £23,250, not including your home, or you choose not to disclose your financial circumstances, you will have to pay the full cost of any care and support you require in your own home or periods of respite care in a care home. The council can arrange care for you, and you will be invoiced for this, or you can arrange your care privately and pay for it directly.

If you ask the council to arrange your care and support for you, you may be liable to pay an arrangement fee in addition to the costs of meeting your assessed care and support needs. This arrangement fee covers the cost of putting the care and support you need in place.

Visit www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/adults and see ‘Money and benefits’ for more information.

Personal Budgets and Direct Payments

If you are eligible to receive council funded services, Cambridgeshire County Council will identify a ‘Personal Budget’ for you. Your Personal Budget is the amount of money the council will pay towards your social care support. Personal Budgets give you more choice and control over how your money is used to buy care and support.

You can choose from a range of options for managing your Personal Budget: • Direct Payments – money for your support is sent directly to you, or someone you have nominated. You can then arrange your own care and support arrangements. If you choose this option, you can get support from People • Cambridgeshire County Council can manage the budget. This means the council will arrange care and support to meet your assessed needs.

• A care and support provider or a third-party organisation (such as a home care provider or an independent living charity) can manage the budget on your behalf. This is known as an Individual Service Fund (ISF). You can find out more about ISFs by visiting www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk (search for ‘ISF’).

• Any combination of these approaches.

People Plus is currently contracted by the council to provide the Direct Payments Support Service. Email: ilscambridgeshire@peopleplus.co.uk Web: peopleplus.mylifeportal.co.uk/landing-

pages/cambridgeshire

Tel: 0330 123 2815

For more information about Direct Payments and Personal Budgets visit www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk (search for ‘paying for care’).

Moving into a care home or care home with nursing

If your income, capital, and savings are more than £23,250, you are likely to have to pay the full cost of your care. The cost of your home is counted unless there are special circumstances, such as your partner or your child under the age of 18 continuing to live there. The care homes you consider must be able to meet your assessed care needs.

If the council is contributing towards the cost of your care, your choice of care home will be limited to those that accept the council’s funding level.

If the home you have chosen charges more than the council’s contribution, you must find someone to help pay the difference. Except in limited circumstances, the law states that you are not allowed to make this additional payment yourself.

The responsibility for this often falls to a member of your family or a benevolent sponsor such as a charity.