Just wondering if anyone can tell me - would someone have a leg to stand on if they requested a delay in a review/assessment from social services, until they had received all the data they’d requested under a subject access request?
I feel like it’s kind of important for everyone to be on the same page during these things, especially when care cuts are on the table, but would it be frowned upon to say “I’m not prepared to engage with the review process, until I’ve seen all the information you hold on me for myself?”
If anyone has any knowledge or experience in this area, your advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks everyone.
Nothing revealed in an Internet search , nor have I seen a similar request in 15 years on the forums.
Best guess would be to either contact the LA and request a delay or , first , bouncing that off the CAB to see if they foresee any
problems … such as rescheduling several weeks / months down the line.
Can you spell out what’s behind the SAR in case we can provide better advice ?
Well, basically a social worker has decided to try and impose care cuts on my sister in law, despite there being no change in her level of need.
They are chomping at the bit to force her into a care home, and claiming that what they pay for her care at home is more expensive than the cost her being in a care home (from the prices I’ve found online, she’s nowhere close!) the social worker in question has also made many erroneous claims regarding funding and assessed needs etc. From what little paperwork we’ve received from the council regarding her care, it seems they have never provided a comprehensive report on her needs.
After literally months of back and forth with the council over this, they have repeatedly dodged any attempts I’ve made to obtain costing for care homes from them, and haven’t given an updated breakdown of my SIL’s care funding since 2017, despite it being changed in 2018 when minimum wage went up!
She’s asked them to tell us what they pay out for her and what they would pay in a care home for someone with her level of need, however they are not forthcoming with any info. She made an FoI request for details of care costs in the area, and a SAR to try to see what it is social services are working with to have concluded her care needs to be cut, and to find out what figures they are working with that allow them to make claims like “she’s more expensive at home than in care”.
It’s all information we feel would be beneficial to be aware of before the review process continues. Especially when dealing with a social worker who had previously made a lot of false claims during a review and was hellbent on cutting funding with no regard to my SIL’s actual needs, and came out with a preconceived decision to cut her care.
A common theme running through a few threads and , more importantly , what low millions are actually experiencing nationwide.
( NO LA can " Force " a client into a care home. It is US who are picking up the slack , many giving up paid employment as the care support is simply not there … or unaffordable. ))
Short of the usual ( 1 ) complaint to the LA … followed by ( 2 ) escalate through the LA and Social Care Ombudsman , I have little
else to suggest … bearing in mind the sheer time involved between the actual cutback and possible restitution.
I dread to take a guess at what numbers they are working with… Definitely complain to higher up people about the lack of paperwork and failure to provide too. Can you change social workers or not? The social worker is very bad and needs to learn her lesson. Why did the council fail to give you a report on her needs? Make a complaint about the social worker. Your sister deserves better than this. Care homes are very expensive and not always good either. Try complaining to the care quality commission as well… they might be interested to hear your complaint. Good luck!
When did you apply for the SAR? I think the time limit is now 30 days. Look at the Information Commissioner’s office website for more info. If it’s late, let the INCO sort it out for you!
The council are having to cut social care costs, I think I read one council 43 per cent of the budget is going towards social care.
Cutting just a few hours on someones care can save thousands on the social care bill, that’s what all my carees had.
Social workers were visting not to see if their clients were alright, but to try and cut the care packages.
My carees barely got any help, rushed visits, carers having to run off to the next clients.
Does your sister in law not get a bill for her care, every month a statement came through for my caree, it was £1238 and pence, so that’s about 300 pound a week, My caree on benefits had to pay a proportion of this.
The council can get discounts on care homes, it was in the papers that essentially private patients of care homes were having to pay more, effectively subsidising the council residents.
From the council blurb we have it is always cheaper to have home services, care is expensive and they don’t want clients to end up in hospital or care as it costs too much.
The council are just trying to save money and its the carees and carers that are suffering as a result.
That’s rubbish. It is not cheaper. What about the principles? Money should never dictate your life. It shouldn’t be about money at all but about the most kindest option and the principles of caring too.
It is not cheaper. What about the principles? Money should never dictate your life. It shouldn’t be about money at all but about the most kindest option and the principles of caring too.
It IS all about money … the continuing battle between the LAs and Central government … as detailed in the main GREEN PAPER
SOCIAL CARE thread … and the ongoing madness contained therein :
Thing is it is all about money, NYCC and all the councils are trying to cut costs only today on the news 95 council staff are losing their jobs as the council are making cuts.
Our council have contracted out the care to private care companys, all the social services carers who were on a wacking good wage, good pension etc were got rid of.
TO SAVE MONEY.
The private carers are on minimum wage and you don’t get good quality with minimum wages, you just don’t.
Same with the NHS wheelchair service, they just can’t afford to give you an all singing or dancing wheelchair and sometimes they refuse to give you a wheelchair at all.
There used to be so much support for my carees, it’s all gone now due to council cuts.
Copied straight from the council website:-
"The longer term position therefore remains largely unchanged with the county council having to save a further £43m from its revenue budget by 2019/20.
The council has plans for £33m and a savings gap of £10m remains before news of the next funding settlement is made.
This gives a total of £169.4m saved over the decade – which represents a reduction of 34 per cent in the council’s spending power.
I ended up not using NHS wheelchair services. I did a ton of research and built a wheelchair for my son with the help of a engineering friend who I asked for advice. I contacted them first, they were the first people I asked but was turned down almost immediately. So I had to execute plan B. How many people do you care for?
Any published care home rates you’ve seen on the internet will almost certainly refer to self-funders. My mum (self-funding) is paying over £900 pw - I doubt that the LA-funded residents will be funded to much more than £600 pw (if that!).
It’s now a well-known fact that self-funders are now subsidising LA rates to the tune of around 40%.
Therefore, if you start comparing what a LA would pay for residential care against a probable maximum of 4 x two-handed home care visits per day, then residential would be more economic for them (doubly so when you take into account that a LA-funded resident will have to hand over their pensions, attendance allowance etc. and this will be offset against what the LA will pay).
I really hate to say this, but does anyone else get the impression there’s a big push for forcing (read: “leaving them with no other option”) people into care homes, especially older people, because of the law on care caps changes in April 2020?
Apparently from that point they can only charge someone with “very high needs” £72,000 for care, and if a close relative lives in their family home it cannot be taken into account when calculating assets and capitol. The assets cap also changes to £27,000 if you’re getting help at home. If you have less than that in the bank, the council will have to pay towards your care, or possibly fund all of it. (I’m sure Chris can validate this? But here’s the link I found… How the cap on care costs works - BBC News)
It would not surprise me at all if they are in a rush to make a claim on people’s homes to bolster their sinking budgets. It’s very fishy how no council is open about just what they pay out for care. They’re all happy to say “what you’re getting at home is more expensive” but they won’t tell you the calculations or figures used to draw that conclusion.
I also hate to say this - but I think council’s really need to start making cuts in their own offices first, before coming for the vulnerable. We’ve seen no less than six different social workers in the past few months to carry out the annual review process, all of whom are getting a damn good salary and charging mileage to attend meetings that could have been a phone call. Usually it’s one social worker out to chat, a few weeks wait and a care plan in the post. This year, because they want to make cuts they’re throwing everything at it, it’s obviously costing them in terms of social care staffing/fees etc. Amazing how they can turn a blind eye to that kind of thing while pushing on trying to steal essential support from people who would not survive without it.
Mum received care at the LA rate. She then paid the LA at full rate. She had care in 2016-2017. I recall the hourly rate then was approximately £9.62/hour/ carer and no more than £10/hr.
There has always a been "that is cheaper to provide care in peoples homes " that’s what we have always been told.
There’s the cost of the care home itself and all the fittings, beds, equipment etc, all the bills, water, gas, electric, food.
The staff, care staff, cooks, kitchen assistants, Manager and supervisers, the maintenance and so many other costs to be thought of.
Times that by 20 or 30 and how much does that cost millions and million and millions to the council.
Home care you are providing just the care , 3 visits a day, bound to be cheaper.
I think the problem when people need a lot more care, night care which costs a fortune, I was quoted £220 a night , that’s over a £1000 a week.
At that point a care home is the only choice.