paying for care

julies59

my father recieves full rate attendance allowance and he has 4 carers coming in each day to care for him as he is bed bound,he also gets his pension and a small ammount of pension credit,iv recieved a letter from the non resident at the council saying because he recieves full rate attendance allowance we have to pay £25 a week towards his carers.
They are also saying that because he was getting the higher rate from may 2010 the bill has to be backdated from then.
Does anybody think this is right that we have to pay the extra.
Any help please

Savvy_Sue

I'm not terribly clear who the 'non resident at the council' is, but what did you think his AA was for?

As for whether you have to pay back for the last year+, did you keep the council fully informed about his income and any changes to it?

You need to get out your paperwork about these carers and see what it says about assessment and paying for the service.

monkeyspanner

julies59 wrote: »

my father recieves full rate attendance allowance and he has 4 carers coming in each day to care for him as he is bed bound,he also gets his pension and a small ammount of pension credit,iv recieved a letter from the non resident at the council saying because he recieves full rate attendance allowance we have to pay £25 a week towards his carers.
They are also saying that because he was getting the higher rate from may 2010 the bill has to be backdated from then.
Does anybody think this is right that we have to pay the extra.
Any help please

Essentially yes as attendance allowance is provided to enable someone to purchase care for matters they cannot manage to do for themselves.

If the council have been informed when AA was awarded and have only just realised they should have asked for a contribution then backdating their claim could be unreasonable. If they were not informed of the AA award then they have reasonable grounds for attempting to backdate the claim. If your Dad would be put in financial hardship if he paid the backdated amount you may be able to organise a prolonged repayment schedule.

On a completely different tack you mention your Dad is bedbound. If your Dad has complex medical needs it may be worth examining if he should be assessed for NHS funded continuing healthcare. This funding is assessed and managed by the local PCT (primary care trust) on behalf of the NHS is not means tested, is available to fund care in any setting and if awarded would cover the full cost of medical care. You would have to demonstrate that your Dad's needs are primarily medical rather than domestic. If you think this is a possibility search on this forum for "CHC" and you will find a long thread.

NotSoWise

My OH recieves higher attendance allowance. It is an allowance that is 'granted' after =>65 years of age. It is free for everyone who meet the criteria.

It should be used to make the reciepient's life easier in whatever way is necessary. IMO I would look if this service from the council is available 'free' to those that get DWP allowances and if it is question it.

Oldernotwiser

NotSoWise wrote: »

It should be used to make the reciepient's life easier in whatever way is necessary. IMO I would look if this service from the council is available 'free' to those that get DWP allowances and if it is question it.

So you think that someone should receive AA to provide for their care needs and then get their care free as well?