Adult social care: Financial support from us
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About financial support
The charges for Adult Social Care can change each year, either due to nationally set thresholds and rates or due to Barnet-specific policies.
How much you contribute towards the cost of your support will depend on your income and the savings you have.
If you have savings and capital of £23,250 or more, you'll need to fund your care and support.
You will need to complete a financial assessment to work out your contribution.
Before you complete a financial assessment you will need have had a care needs assessment
Paid for services
There are some services that you will always have to pay for. These services such as respite care do not use the usual financial assessment.
The financial assessment is different if you are moving to a care home or if you are receiving non-residential care (usually in your own home).
For community care: More information can be found in the Community Care Contribution Policy (PDF 400KB)External link
For residential and nursing care: More information can be found in the Residential and Nursing Care Contribution Policy (PDF, 525Kb)
When we dont charge for non-residential care
We will not charge you for non-residential care that is subject to a financial assessment if you are:
- Diagnosed as suffering with any form of Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (CJD)
- Getting services provided under the Carers and Disabled Act 2000, including accommodation and care to people you care for while you take a Carers Break. We will charge for any temporary accommodation and care not in support of a carers break
- Subject to Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 where non-residential services are part of your after care.
- In the first six weeks of reablement or intermediate care service
- Getting NHS continuing healthcare, living in your own home where the NHS is responsible for meeting all nursing and personal care needs.
Complete a financial assessment online
The quickest and easiest way to complete a financial assessment is to use our online form. You can upload evidence from your computer, and save and resume the form later if you need to.
Complete an online financial assessment
Or, you can download and complete the community care financial declaration form, to assess your contribution and return it to us:
Financial Assessment Team
Adults and Health
London Borough of Barnet
2 Bristol Avenue Colindale
London NW9 4EW
Telephone: 020 8359 2238
Email: financial.assessments@barnet.gov.uk
Outcomes from your financial assessment
If you are assessed as having savings and capital of £23,250 or more, you'll need to fund all of your care and support from your own savings and income.
If you have savings and capital under £23,250, you could receive:
- full funding from the council
- funding in part from council, with you contributing the rest of the required amount
If you have over £14,250 in savings (but less than £23,250)
- we will add £1 per week to your assessable income for every £250 of savings and capital that you have over £14,250. For example, if you have £15,000 in savings, £3 per week would be added to your assessable income. This is because you have £750 in savings over the limit of £14,250.
How much you must contribute
The amount you must pay towards your care will depend on:
Assessable income
When assessing your contribution we take into account most welfare benefits including:
- Pension Credit
- Retirement Pension
- Pension Credit
- Employment Support Allowance
We also take into account other types of income when assessing a contribution, for example occupational pensions.
For non-residential care
We take into account assessable income and:
- Attendance allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (care)
- Personal Independence Payments (daily living)
For further information about the income that is taken into account when assessing a contribution, please contact the Financial Assessment Team on:
Telephone: 020 8359 2238
Email: financial.assessments@barnet.gov.ukExternal link
When working out your contribution we make allowances for personal expenses allowances (residential care) and a guaranteed minimum income amount (non-residential care).
Residential care personal expenses allowance
After assessing a contribution towards the costs of residential care, the personal expenses allowance is £30.15 per week.
Guaranteed Minimum Income
We need to make sure that after assessing your contribution that you have enough money to live on to meet day to day living costs, this is called your Guaranteed Minimum Income.
The Guaranteed Minimum Income levels ensure that you have a protected level of income to meet the everyday living costs such as food, clothing and utility bills.
The amount that is allowed as your Guaranteed Minimum Income amount varies depending on your age and the benefits you receive.
Expenses and outgoings
In addition to the Guaranteed Minimum Income amounts we also make allowances for outgoings and expenses including:
- Housing costs including rent (after housing benefit), mortgage payments, council tax (after council tax support), building insurance;
- Disability related expenses, these are the additional costs you have to pay for because of your disability or ill health.
How we work out your contribution
Your contribution is worked out after taking into account assessable income and savings/capital. We then adjust depending on the personal expenses allowance (residential care) or the guaranteed minimum income amount (non-residential care).
The amount that is left over after making these deductions is the amount that you will be asked to pay as your assessed contribution towards the costs of care.
If you disagree
We'll always explain how we have worked out your contribution. If you disagree with how we have worked this out, you have up to 20 days to contact us so that we can look into this.
Financial Assessment Team
Telephone: 020 8359 2238
Email: financial.assessments@barnet.gov.ukExternal link
How we collect your contributions
You will receive an invoice for the amount you have been assessed to pay. The invoice provides information about the ways you can pay.
If you choose to receive your Personal Budget as a direct payment into your bank account to arrange your own care, we will deduct your assessed contribution directly from the payment that we send to you.
If you're paying for some or all of your social care services, including paying for long term care, it may be useful to get some independent financial advice.
Contacts
Financial Assessment Team
Telephone: 020 8359 2238
Email: financial.assessments@barnet.gov.uk