Budget Proposal 2024/25: Restructure funding for Adult Social Care transport services

Activity closed. Results published.

Background

West Berkshire Council's Adult Social Care Service currently provides a transport service to 196 clients, either through the in-house service or taxis. This is normally to attend day services, which provide care and support for disabled, vulnerable and older people.  

Many clients receive the mobility element from either the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is paid to support any additional cost for transport due to their illness or disability. This benefit can't be included in the financial assessment process when assessing an individual's contribution towards the cost of their care package.

Of the clients that currently receive a transport service:

• 46 clients aren't in receipt of either the mobility element of DLA or PIP, this is mainly because they are in receipt of Attendance Allowance (AA) that has no mobility element
• 28 clients are in receipt of the low rate of the mobility element, which is currently £26.90 per week
• 117 clients are in receipt of the high rate of the mobility element, which is currently £71.00 per week

The remaining 5 individuals receive transport under the Mental Health Act 2007 and aren't affected by this proposal. 

Legislation Requirements

The Care Act 2014 governs what services the council should and should not provide as part of an individual's care package. Transport doesn't have to be provided as part of an individual's care package, and we are one of the few local authorities that still does.

What we are proposing

To remove transport to and from the day services as part of an individual's care package, and to offer a transport service that will be charged at a flat rate of £5.00 per journey (one way) for those individuals that are unable to get to the day services by another means, for example, taken by family or public transport.

This proposal will save the council approximately £200,000 per year.

What we think the impact will be

There will be a financial impact on some of the individuals that currently use the transport, but the majority have either the mobility element of DLA or PIP which could be used to pay towards the cost of the transport.

We are also aware that some individuals use the mobility element to fund a vehicle, so they have their own transport available.

We therefore don't think that there will be a huge impact on individuals choosing not to use the transport.

Please refer to the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for more details. [33KB]

What else we have considered before arriving at our proposal

The other options we've considered, but discounted are:

• to stop providing transport altogether, which would have a greater impact and many individuals would have no means of getting to the day services
• to charge a higher flat rate per journey, which would save the council more money, but would have a bigger financial impact on those individuals that chose to use the transport

Why we want your views

We would like to know how this proposal might impact you and the wider community, and any views you have on how we can minimise the impact of this proposed change, if the decision is taken to proceed.

How to take part

If you'd like to comment on this proposal, please complete our survey by midnight on Thursday, 11 January 2024. It should take about 10 minutes. 

If you have any questions about the consultation, please email asc.consultations@westberks.gov.uk

For general enquiries about our Adult Social Care Service, please visit our webpage.

What happens next

All the feedback we receive will be taken into consideration, and a final decision whether to proceed with this proposal will be made by elected Members at the Full Council Meeting to be held on Thursday, 29 February 2024.

If the decision is made to proceed with this proposal the new charging will be adopted in April 2024.

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