Disability related expenditure (DRE) survey 2018

Closed 28 Sep 2018

Opened 3 Jul 2018

Contact

Adult Social Care

0116 454 4400

ASCconsultations@leicester.gov.uk

Feedback updated 18 Jan 2019

We asked

We asked for views on the proposed reduction to the minimum standard level of income that a service user can keep for Disability Related Expenditure (DRE) within the financial assessment, from £20 to £10 for a single person (and from £15 to £10, if one of a couple).

You said

We consulted with service users (or their carers or representatives) receiving non-residential care.

A total of 788 responses to the consultation were received, via post or online submissions.

57% of respondents disagreed with the proposals.

43% of respondents agreed with the proposal or did not have a view to express.

We did

More than half of the people who are currently in receipt of DRE (53%) would not be affected by the proposals.

Analysis of service users with DRE indicated that 62% of service users have DRE related costs of less than £10 per week.

The Assistant City Mayor for Adult Social Care and Wellbeing has approved the proposal, which will be implemented in full from 1 April 2019. Discretion will remain in the financial assessment process and where a person can show that their qualifying disability expenditure is in excess of the minimum standard level, the council will allow them to keep more income to cover those costs.

Results updated 11 Jan 2019

Files:

Overview

Who is this survey for?
We are proposing a change to Leicester City Council’s financial assessment for adults who live at home and are eligible for help from adult social care.

This is a public consultation and can be filled in by anyone, not just those who receive help from adult social care.

What are we proposing?
The council is considering changing the financial assessment for people who receive non-residential care. Everyone who is eligible for adult social care has a financial assessment to work out if they have to pay towards the cost of their care, and if so, how much. The assessment criteria are outlined in the council’s charging policy, which can be found at: leicester.gov.uk/financial-assessment 

The financial assessment takes into account extra expenses people may have because of their disability. This is called disability related expenditure (DRE). Some examples of disability related expenditure include additional gas or electricity usage, additional water usage, travel costs, community alarms, gardening and dietary needs.

Currently we allow a minimum amount of £20 per week towards disability related expenditure for a single person (or £15 per week, for one of a couple). We do allow people more than the set amount, if they can show that their expenses are higher.

The council is proposing to change the amount allowed for disability related expenditure to a minimum amount of £10 per week, for everyone. This will bring it in line with the average cost of such expenditure in Leicester, making it fairer.

Helpline
If you want to talk to someone about the survey or you need support to complete it, please call our helpline on telephone number 0116 454 4400 or email us at: ASCconsultations@leicester.gov.uk

Other ways to have your say
If you are unable to complete this online survey, there is a downloadable version and an easy read survey attached below (easy read version to be added soon), which you can print, complete and return to:

DRE Consultation
Bosworth House
1st floor – West Wing
Leicester LE1 6TH

Why your views matter

Why does the council think change is needed?
The council needs to make sure it spends money wisely and fairly. Money is provided by the government and from the council tax paid by people who live in the city. The council has been getting less money from the government because of cuts. 

Staff have been looking at the average cost of disability related expenditure, to make sure it is as fair as possible.

Being fair is about making sure people with disabilities have a reasonable amount of money allowed for this. Allowing the right amount of money helps us to spend money wisely and assist as many people as possible.

The proposal will bring Leicester City Council broadly in line with other councils and the changes in rates are not significantly higher or lower in comparison.

We want to hear your views on the proposed changes. No changes can be made until the city mayor and his executive team have considered the findings from the survey. The survey will run from 3 July to 28 September 2018.

 

 

What happens next

The city mayor and his executive team will consider the findings from the consultation before making a decision on whether to introduce this change. We will keep you informed of the outcome on this website. 

Events

Areas

  • Abbey
  • Aylestone
  • Beaumont Leys
  • Belgrave
  • Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields
  • Castle
  • Evington
  • Eyres Monsell
  • Fosse
  • Humberstone & Hamilton
  • Knighton
  • Rushey Mead
  • Saffron
  • Spinney Hills
  • Stoneygate
  • Thurncourt
  • Westcotes

Audiences

  • Working-age people
  • Older people
  • Carers
  • Full-time and part-time workers
  • Disabled people
  • Gypsy and Traveller community
  • Faith groups
  • Carers' network
  • Voluntary organisations
  • Community organisations
  • Self-help groups
  • User groups
  • Third sector infrastructure groups
  • All Voluntary and Community Organisations
  • Advocacy organisation
  • Drug and Alcohol services
  • Health services
  • NHS
  • All Public and Private Organisations
  • Service providers
  • Partner agencies
  • Service users

Interests

  • Adult social care