No images? Click here Inform & Advise IntroductionHi all, Welcome to the February 2022 edition of the Inform and Advise newsletter for local Age UKs/Cymrus. In this edition we start with an issue that many of you may be facing – lack of availability of care services, and what advice can we give in those circumstances. Then our Policy Team explain how they use the social policy evidence you send in, to influence government and others. We also have a book recommendation from Shelley Pratley at Age UK Blackburn with Darwen – if you have got any recommendations to share, please let me know. John Edwards, Head of I&A Strategy If you have any questions about this bulletin, please contact Age UK on adviceunit@ageuk.org.uk Please note: some items in the Briefings are not relevant for partners in Wales; these are marked up in the Briefings. In this issue
Problems with the availability of care servicesI had panicky phone call from a close friend last week. His Mum and Dad are both in their late eighties, his dad diagnosed with quite severe dementia and his mum also diagnosed with dementia, but in the earlier stages. He hoped to keep both parents in their own home for as long as possible with a good regimen of care as he knows how much they hoped for this; however he is now faced with a care agency that tells him they no longer have the staff to offer care to his parents. On shopping around elsewhere he finds the same story across the board, no carers available. His Dad has had to go into a care home for what is hoped to be temporary care whilst they source alternatives. Their questions to me were around “what are our options in this situation?” I gave all the advice I could but realistically it is tricky one, to date his Dad is still in the care home and that is likely to become permanent now. But how sad for the whole family that those last few precious weeks/months at home were lost because of a lack of care provision. On the Age UK Advice Line we are seeing so much of this at the moment and in some cases there are no places available in care homes either, often due to lack of staff. The staffing crisis in the care sector may have a number of causes, including Brexit discouraging European workers, and of course COVID is a massive issue currently affecting staff availability. I feel certain that local Age UKs must be encountering some of these difficulties too, although I imagine it will vary in severity from area to area. This article shares the key advice that we are giving to clients on the Advice Line who are having difficulty getting the care they need. It has been complied by our TASO, David Broome and the Level 2 Lead Adviser for Community Care, Ruben Kenig. Where a local authority has carried out a care needs assessment that has identified care needs that they have a duty to meet, and done a financial assessment that has shown they are eligible for assistance, then they should be meeting that need. If they claim that they cannot meet this duty because there are no care services available, the first question to ask is – is there a lack of care services, or is it that there is a lack of services the local authority are willing to pay for? If it is the latter then we advise that clients should ask for the personal budget to be increased so that the duty to meet the needs can be fulfilled. It is also reasonable to ask the local authority to take the following actions based on their wider duties under the Care Act 2014:
Possible actions that a local authority can take include making a direct payment to allow a service user to employ a carer directly where there are no agencies with available staff. The local authority should offer support in managing direct payments. This is often the best option if the older person or their family are willing and able to search for and employ carers themselves. They may also offer interim support measures – these should be recorded as such in the care and support plan, noting the anticipated timeframe, when review will be required, and how the transition from temporary arrangements to the original care plan will be managed. The personal budget must be sufficient to meet eligible needs. A local authority must avoid taking a ‘take or leave it’ approach to care and support in these circumstances. Under section 25(5) of the Care Act they must take all reasonable steps to agree the care and support plan with the adult. Making a complaint If the local authority is not taking adequate steps to address the situation, we advise the client to make a formal complaint. The client can ask the Local Government Monitoring Officer to consider the concerns – their role is to investigate possible breaches of the law (FS59 sect. 6). They may wish to cite a failure to meet needs under section 18 of the Care Act (Duty to meet needs for care and support). A client can also escalate the matter by raising the issue with their local MP. Support offered by family Families need to be very careful about stepping in to offer to meet care needs that realistically they may not be able or willing to fulfil for any length of time. If family members to do offer to provide the care, the local authority duty to meet the adult’s needs would no longer apply, as the duty to meet eligible needs under section 18 of the Care Act does not apply to needs met by a carer (section 18(7)). Families are under no duty to provide care. If a family member has been providing care, but is no longer able to continue doing this, then this should be made clear to the local authority. Arranging care privately If a person, or their family, arranges care privately (paid for by themselves), this does not negate local authority duties towards the needs assessment, eligibility determination, meeting needs under a care and support plan where eligibility criteria is met and providing financial support subject to the financial assessment. However, the local authority may not necessarily agree to fund or arrange the adult’s privately arranged care services. In this case the local authority should be challenged to show an alternative plan that does meet all assessed needs in a lower budget range. If the local authority can do that, then they have met their duties and the client will need to decide whether to accept the alternative arrangements or continue to self fund. Again, direct payments could be the answer here as they could be used to meet some of the cost with the rest being met by the person or their family. But if the older person or their family do go ahead with their own arrangements there is no guarantee that their costs will be repaid by the Local Authority, meaning clients should think very carefully indeed about privately funding care services where they are entitled to financial support under the financial assessment. So to summarise: Establish if there are solutions available,
Complaints
Important issues for service user
The local authority does not have to agree to fund that careCosts incurred may not be recoupable I hope this is helpful to all of you out there who are struggling to help clients with these issues. Lindsey Huggins, Advice and Quality Manager, Level 2 of Advice Line How the Policy Team use Social Policy evidenceThe Age UK Policy Team is always interested in information about the problems facing older people, and their families and carers, in real-world situations. It probably goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway!) that most of our work is directed at identifying the systemic problems that people encounter, and finding solutions that are rooted in Government and regulatory policy change. Hearing about the cases that the Age UK network comes across is always interesting, whatever the subject might be, and enhances our ability to accurately reflect the impact that Government policies. Although we’re not able to work on all the issues raised, even where we can’t take things forward it’s still interesting to know what’s happening, and if there’s clear evidence of a problem it enables us to look at an issue in more detail. Happily there’s often some crossover between what gets sent through the Social Policy Evidence Collection (SPEC) system and our current priorities. In the latest SPEC bulletin, which we receive monthly, there are examples of people struggling to pay their energy bills, an issue which as you may have seen has now turned into a major campaign – we’re calling on the Government to make a special one-off payment to recipients of the Cold Weather Payment to help them meet increased costs this winter, as well as other measures to ensure the energy market works better for older consumers over the coming months and years. Hearing about these issues in practice helps us build a bigger picture of what life is really like for people who are struggling to make ends meet. I’d encourage everyone across the network to send us any examples of your clients, whether you’re dealing with routine or more unusual issues. All are interesting to us, and the SPEC bulletin (as well as any other ways of passing us information) is essential reading each month! To send in evidence, please fill in this SPEC Form Christopher Brooks, Head of Policy at Age UK DWP Freephone payment contact numbersThe following is a link shared with us by Policy Team colleagues to a current list of DWP Freephone numbers to assist the public when they are needing to raise specific benefit payment enquires: https://www.stevedouble.org.uk/freephone-numbers-dwp . This is from the website of the Tory MP for St. Austell and Newquay, Steve Double. Also remember that there are also separate Freephone numbers available within our individual Benefits factsheets that we recommend to be used when making claims for specific benefits which you may already be aware of and are using. Advice Line ‘Integration’ and call-backsAround 50 local partners are set up to be able to call back clients who call the national Advice Line but need the support of the local I&A service. This arrangement provides an excellent and seamless service for clients, and we’d like to extend this to other local partners. To find out more about how you can sign up, contact integrationcustenquiries@ageuk.org.uk and we can explain the process, answer any questions, and help get you set up if you want to go ahead. In November 2021, a total of 670 call backs were set up for 43 partners (some partners didn’t get any booked), and we also completed 44 ‘warm transfers’. Here are examples of the types of calls where the caller needed a call back:
Age UK Website SurveyWe’ll be carrying out our regular survey of website users, from the middle of February. This normally happens annually but it’s been a couple of years since the last one. The aim of the survey is to establish:
The survey results are used to ensure that the website delivers against user needs and continues to improve. If you are using the site, you may see the survey pop up – you are free to take part in the survey, but don’t feel you have to. Age UK National – NewsA couple of pieces of news from Age UK. Firstly, there is a new Chair of the Board of Trustees, Toby Strauss. Toby has been a Trustee of Macmillan since 2013, and he has had a varied career that includes financial services, digital transformation, technology, and strategic consulting. Further details are here - https://www.ageuk.org.uk/about-us/people/directors-trustees/trustees/ . With the chair now in place, recruitment for a new Chief Executive will start in earnest. The other news is that Age UK has moved offices. Tavis House was too big for Age UK’s needs, the rent was increasing, and the owners wanted to redevelop it, so the decision was made to find an alternative office. The new office is on the 7th floor of One America Square, in the City of London near Fenchurch St Station and Tower Bridge. It is a modern, fresh and spacious area that fits with the new hybrid style of working, with staff working there flexibly as needed rather than having a permanent office base with assigned desks. Despite the central location and quality of premises, the rent is actually cheaper than at Tavis House, which is a real bonus. The new office address is Floor 7, One America Square, 17 Crosswall, LONDON EC3N 2LB. We look forward to welcoming staff from local partners to the new office at some point, for training or meetings, or just to say hello! Changes to Age UK’s I&A TrainingDuring the first quarter of 2022 we will be transferring all our I&A training content from the loop onto the Age UK E-Learning Platform. By hosting our I&A training on the new platform it should make it easier for I&A service managers and individual learners to access, track and manage their training and development. When booking onto an I&A training course you may be asked to register for an Age UK E-learning account login first. You can register for an account login at any time and we would advise that, if you have not done so already, that you do so in the next couple of months as you will not be able to access our training without a login from later in the year. You can register for an Age UK E-learning account by complete this short online form. Charity Log trainingAge UK recently offered the network the opportunity to attend some training on Charity Log. The recording of these sessions have now been made available for all to view to support the use of Charity Log for those who use it. The courses are not mandatory and are there for those who wish to use them. I&A Managers will have been granted access through the e-learning site here. If this link doesn’t work you can request access by emailing the advice unit – adviceunit@ageuk.org.uk For those who don’t have an e-learning account you can register for one here. Updated guidesWe have two guides updated online that will be available to order in a couple of weeks: AgeUKIG07: Your hospital stay AgeUKIG32: Bereavement The following guides are in the process of being updated and will hopefully be available to order by the end of the month: AgeUKIG03: When someone dies AgeUKIG14: Staying steady AgeUKIG15: Bladder and Bowel problems AgeUKIG21: Powers of attorney AgeUKIG24: Healthy living AgeUKIG45: Looking after your money AgeUKIG51: Thinking about end of life AgeUKIG57: Getting help with debt You should have recently received a mailing of 68 information and advice 2022 calendars. These are free resources that can be distributed locally. If you require more copies, please email Tim Sheaff at tim.sheaff@ageuk.org.uk. Benefits, Housing and Health & Care BriefingsThis month’s Benefits briefing, produced by Liam Bradford, Technical Advice Support Officer – Money and Benefits Includes information on a new review to consider increasing pension age further, Citizens Advice ‘Help to Claim’ service for universal credit to continue in 2022/23, and new guidance regarding means-tested benefit entitlement for EEA nationals with ‘pre-settled status’. This month’s Housing briefing, produced by Lottie Beauchamp, Technical Advice Support Officer – Housing, Includes information on new guidance on ventilation in rented housing and the government announcement on the cost of removing cladding from medium-rise buildings. This month’s Health and Care briefing, produced by David Broome, Technical Advice Support Officer – Social Care, and Rachel Freeman, Technical Advice Support Officer – Health & End of Life Includes information on the Ombudsman publishing domestic abuse guidance for local authorities, the withdrawal of social care funding for holidays and recreational activities successfully challenged in the High Court, and current Covid-19 guidance. Also included is information on additional funding to increase availability of dental appointments, the Quaker Social Action funeral survey and the Care Quality Commission relaunch of the Because We All Care Campaign. Factsheet updateThe following factsheets have had an annual review for February 2022: FS9 Anti-social behaviour in housing FS27 Planning for your funeral FS59 How to resolve problems and complain about social care FS65 Equity release FS71 Park Homes The above factsheets are available to download from the Age UK website from 1st February 2022 The Large Print versions of all factsheets are also available to download from the Age UK website here https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/information-advice/guides-and-factsheets/age-uk-large-print-factsheets/ Book Recommendation – The Little Girl in the RadiatorShelley Pratley, who is Advice & Information Manager at Age UK Blackburn with Darwen, recommends a book called The Little Girl in the Radiator, written by Martin Slevin about his experience caring for his mum who was living with Alzheimer’s and his particular way of dealing with it. The book is very highly rated (5 stars) on Amazon, where the review says: Martin Slevin's mother was a highly active, very intelligent and fiercely independent woman who ran her own business. But after her diagnosis, Martin moves back home to care for her. Together they embark on a journey through the various stages of the condition. But one question plagues Martin: who is the little girl in the radiator who his mum has daily conversations with? Shelley says “It’s absolutely brilliant and passed it round all my colleagues who all loved it too. It’s funny and sad in equal measures but also highlighted a completely different way of approaching daily issues such as his mum kept thinking that he (her son) was another family member (her brother I think) but who had passed away that she hadn’t remembered and at first he was saying no I’m your son xx is dead and it was upsetting her like a recent bereavement so he stopped and just went along with anything she said. It’s really insightful.” Interesting Email of the monthEnquiry - Can you confirm if people living on caravan sites where they need to be off site for some of the year (main residence) must pay council tax? There has been confusion about this and I have come across people paying and people not paying. Response - As explained in section 10 of FS71 Park homes, you are responsible for paying Council Tax if your park home or caravan is your ‘sole or main residence’. Treating a holiday caravan as a main residence - There is a legislative framework giving rights to park homeowners, including strong rights against eviction, but this only applies to ‘protected’ pitch agreements. Your pitch agreement is your contract with the site owner allowing you to station your caravan on a particular plot (‘pitch’). It is protected if the following conditions apply:
You say these clients occupy their caravans as a ‘main residence’, notwithstanding the fact that they need to be off-site for part of the year. The requirement to be off-site is more suggestive of a holiday than a residential park – residential use of your clients’ caravans may be prohibited under the site licence or under the terms of their individual pitch agreements. If they treat the caravans as a main residence in breach of their pitch agreements or site licence, they are in a risky position. They lack the park homes legislation protections and are in danger of being asked to remedy the breach, i.e. to stop using the caravan as their main residence. If your clients are unsure, the best thing to do is to check the terms of their pitch agreement and site licence. A copy of the latter must be displayed on the park notice board where it can easily be seen. It should state whether the park is for residential or holiday use; if ‘mixed-use’ (part-residential, part-holiday), then the clients should check whether their pitches are located in the residential part of the site. The pitch agreements should state if they are entitled to occupy their caravans as a main residence. This is a separate, albeit related, issue to the requirement to leave the site for part of the year. A park home resident who goes on holiday or visits friends/family during the ‘off’ period has clearly complied with the requirement to leave, but may be in breach of a prohibition against residential use of the caravan. Relevant issues include where are their belongings kept, are they registered to vote or with a GP elsewhere? Where do they normally sleep most, or all, of the time? If a pitch agreement is silent on this issue or permits the occupier to use their caravan as their only or main residence, they are in a stronger position. This is the case regardless of what the site licence says – the pitch agreement is a contract which binds the resident and the site owner. Unless you are in breach of the terms, you should be able to stay on the park until the agreement terminates. If both the site licence and pitch agreement permit residential use of a caravan, the client is in a strong position – they are most likely protected by the legislation and do not need to worry about the nature of their occupation. In terms of Council Tax, local authorities are responsible for licensing park home sites as well as for Council Tax administration. If a local authority decides a holiday caravan is being occupied as a ‘sole or main residence’ and hence attracts Council Tax, this may lead to a parallel decision that the site licence has been breached, with enforcement action taken against the site owner or resident. Council Tax liability - Council Tax is usually payable by anyone who resides in a dwelling, which can include park homes and caravans. The Local Government Finance Act 1992, section 6(5) states: ‘“resident”, in relation to any dwelling, means an individual who has attained the age of 18 years and has his sole or main residence in the dwelling.’ ‘Sole or main residence’ is not defined in the legislation, but the CPAG Council Tax Handbook 13th edition helpfully outlines this based on case law from page 77: ‘The Court of Appeal decision in R (Williams) v Horsham District Council clarifies the approach to be taken. The starting point for deciding sole or main residence should be section 6(5) of the Act where ‘sole or main residence’ refers to premises in which the taxpayer actually resides. Usually, a person’s main residence would be the dwelling that ‘a reasonable onlooker’ with knowledge of the facts would regard as that person’s home at the time. The test might not always be easy to apply and the answer would depend on the particular circumstances; it would be a matter of fact and degree… Factors such as voter registration and registration for medical treatment have often been used by valuation tribunals to determine sole or main residence. However, the key question following the Williams case is: ‘Where does the taxpayer actually live?’… The question of ‘sole or main residence’ may also be indicated by asking where a person normally sleeps either most or all of the time. In Sumeghova v McMahon, the Court of Appeal ruled that the place where a person sleeps was of the most enormous importance in determining where her/his principal or only home was; while it might not be decisive, it would influence any court considerably.’ The Council Tax department will be interested in similar factors as above so the more evidence of actually having a ‘sole or main residence’ elsewhere, the less likely they will be treated as having their ‘sole or main residence’ as the caravan. However, it appears they may be treating the caravan as their ‘sole or main residence’ due to the amount of time each year they live in the caravan. Based on the above, ‘a reasonable onlooker’ would regard the caravan as the client’s home (i.e. their sole or main residence), so they would be liable for Council Tax. If your client does not agree with being liable for Council Tax for the caravan, a way around this is to show they have a ‘sole or main residence’ elsewhere, and provide evidence, for example, another property where their belongings are stored, where they are registered for voting and medical purposes such as their GP. Control what you get from Age UK communicationsSign up: You can subscribe to newsletters for local Age UKs using our online sign-up. Control what you receive: You can update your existing subscription and details online. Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe, please email signpost@ageuk.org.uk. If you click the unsubscribe link in the footer you'll unsubscribe from all Age UK newsletters. |