Non-Residential Social Care Charging Policy – Implementation Update - Copy
Renfrewshire Council · 3 December 2025
Back to Leadership Board — 3 December 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 3 December 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Non-Residential Social Care Charging Policy – Implementation Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Board agreed in September 2025 that an update report would be provided to a future meeting in respect of the implementation of the above policy. This report outlines work undertaken by the Council to implement the Non- Residential Social Care Charging Policy, and the support arrangements which have been put in place. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: • Note the contents of the report. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Council’s Finance and Assessments team has been implementing the amended Non-Residential Charging Policy approved by the Board on 19 February 2025, effective from 7 April 2025. 3.2 Financial Assessments for Day Centre clients have been prioritised as this is the first time this assessment will be undertaken.
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PUBLIC 3.3 The updating of records requires colleagues within Renfrewshire HSCP to liaise with their social care system software provider to facilitate the updating of charge rates attached to clients’ records. This process can take a number weeks following the start of the financial year to finalise, due to the rollover of the system and the updating of financial records for all services. A working group has been established to support a smoother billing cycling next financial year. 3.4 Once charge rates are updated, the team undertake the financial assessment process. Clients who normally receive a financial assessment every year are aware of this process and are therefore familiar with the timescales whereby they will receive a contribution letter during the first quarter of the financial year. This process was new to the 855 Day Centre users who were receiving a financial assessment for the first time in 2025. As stated, this particular client group was prioritised, and assessments were all completed by the end of July. 3.5 Following completion of a Financial Assessment, a letter is issued detailing the amount of any contribution. Where it has been determined that a contribution is required, an invoice for payment is subsequently raised the following week. These letters include the offer of a payment plan to support the transition. 3.6 The updated policy also included a change in charges for Community Meals and Community Alarms. Meals and Alarms are not part of the Non-Residential Charging provisions and have always attracted a set charge therefore no Financial Assessment is required, the bills for these were issued in a similar timeframe as previous years. 4. Notification of charges 4.1 Following Policy approval, letters were issued to all clients individually who required a Financial Assessment, explaining the changes. The letter also included an invitation to submit, where appropriate, a Disability Related Expenditure form to ensure these costs were included in the assessment. To date the team has supported 232 clients in completing a Disability Related Expenditure form, with most resulting in a reduction in their charge. 4.2 Visits were arranged to provide an opportunity for clients and carers to ask questions directly and understand what support was available, prior to the changes coming into effect. Senior officers visited Johnstone, Ralston and Renfrew Day Centres along with the Carers Forum during May. 5. Billing 5.1 Of the 855 clients now covered by the policy change, 413 are assessed as requiring a contribution to the cost of their service. All clients have been on the standard 4 weekly billing cycle since August 2025, with 4 clients making a request for a payment plan to help support with payments, all of which have been agreed.
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PUBLIC 6. Ongoing engagement 6.1 The service continues to proactively support clients through the change in policy. 6.2 To date, the Service has received 161 requests for their Financial Assessment to be reviewed, with the majority then providing Disability Related Expenditure information which has reduced the level of charge. 6.3 The team have received 14 elected member enquiries and 3 complaints direct from clients, all of which have resulted in further support being provided to the client. 11 clients have cancelled their service since the introduction of the revised policy. 6.4 As stated previously, the offer of a payment plan was included in the charging letters issued. Where customers have cancelled their service the cancellation letter also details the contact details for Advice Works for further support. 6.5 Following positive feedback about the visits described in section 4.3 above, further meetings are in the process of being arranged at a wide range of locations to provide as much help and support to clients as possible. A variety of daytime and evening options will be offered. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – None 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community/Council Planning – our Council Plan sets out the importance of financial sustainability and this policy will support that. Charges are based on individual financial assessments and there is signposting to services which could help people maximise their income. 4. Legal - Councils are permitted to levy charges for some non-residential social care services, as covered under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 Section 87, the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984, and the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002. 5. Property/Assets – None 6. Information Technology – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights – It is recognised that there may be some negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights which were identified in the original Equality Impact Assessment. A full copy of the Equality Impact Assessment undertaken prior to the Non-Residential Charging Policy being approved on 19 February 2025 is available from the report author.
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PUBLIC 8. Health & Safety - None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk - None 11. Privacy Impact - None 12. Climate Risk – None. 13. Children’s Rights – None 14. COSLA Policy Position – Renfrewshire Council applies COSLA’s guidance in relation to charging policy, as detailed in the report and the policy. _______________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Emma Shields, Strategic Service Delivery Manager