Content

Consideration was
given to a report that sought agreement to commence consultation on
changes to some of the discretionary elements of the Adult Social
Care Cash Budget Policy.
 

Resolved:
 
1.   
That the updates to the Adult Care Cash Budget Policy and the
changes to the funding for personal assistants, in line with the
consultation plan, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report be
approved.
 
2.   
That an update report providing details of the consultation
outcomes be submitted to a future meeting of the HMR Integrated
Care Partnership Committee.

 

Reason for decision
The Adult Care Cash
Budget Policy was developed to provide guidelines and a framework
within which cash budgets operate in Adult Social Care directorate,
to ensure consistency of experience and processes.  The use of cash budgets had changed over recent
years with more people now using the funding to employ their own
personal assistant rather than purchasing care from an agency.
 
Following feedback for
users of cash budgets it was felt there was a need to change the
way support was funded and provided via a cash budget to improve
equity and support people better with their employer
responsibilities when they used cash budgets to buy their own
care.
 

Alternatives considered
Not to approve the
consultation and not to review the current Policy – this
option was not recommended as it was considered best practice to
regularly review the Cash Budget Policy to ensure it met its legal
obligations and the key principles upon which it was
based.  The Council’s Adult Care
Cash Budget Policy had last been fully reviewed in 2015.