Charging for Social Services

The Council provides and arranges a wide range of social services for members of the community who need assistance and support.

Social Services departments are entitled to charge for non-residential services provided to adults, and service users can request a review of their assessed charge at any stage.

In 2001, the Department of Health issued statutory entitled 'Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care and other non-residential Social Services - Guidance for Councils with Social Services Responsibilities'. This guidance requires that all social services departments implement a Fairer Charging Policy.

With this in mind, the Council developed its Fairer Charging Policy, which explains how charges for service users will be calculated.

Some services continue to be provided free of charge, some have a fixed rate charge, and others have an assessed charge, which will be calculated on an individual basis.

Individuals will be financially assessed to work out how much they can reasonably afford to contribute towards the cost of their care. People will only be charged what they can reasonably afford to pay, and people on low incomes may be entitled to receive a free service.

The Council is committed to ensuring it uses a consistent and fair approach to charging people who use our services. This approach will promote high quality, sustainable services for community members that require social services.

Use the links on the right to find out more about our Fairer Charging Policy. Alternatively, you can download a booklet, entitled 'Your Guide to Fairer Charging', containing this information from the downloads section on the right.

If you require further information, please contact us using the details provided on the right.