Contributions to non-residential care. Disability Related Expenses (DRE)

LCCCKMB

Hi, my adult son recieves a care package from our local authority, Lincolnshire County Council (LCC). He makes a contribution towards his care based upon his income, savings, disablility related expenses (DRE) and allowances.
LCC use a banded DRE system based upon the benefits that you recieve. With band 1 being the lowest and band 3 the highest. My son is in reciept of the highest amount of benefits (enhanced PIP care & mobility) and is therefore band 3. The amount is to cover specific expenses as a result of your disability, for example additional loads of washing due to incontinence etc.
Anyway, LCC allow £25 per week for DRE band 3 expenses. This amount was set before 2019 and has not risen since.
Using the retail prices index from March 2019 to February 2023, if the expenses had risen by inflation then it should be £31.96 per week.
Any increase in DRE directly reduces the contribution to care that my son makes so an increase of £1 in DRE reduces his contribution by £1 per week
The difference of £6.96 per week (£31.96 - £25.00) equates to £361.92 for the coming year.


LCC state the following:

If you feel your expenses relating to your disability are higher than your banded allowance, your assessment can be reviewed by contacting the Adult Care Finance Team. You will be sent a detailed factsheet and a separate DRE appeal form which you will need to fill in and provide four weeks' (or 3 months if you have any monthly expenses) worth of receipts for all the expenses you are claiming.

These will then be assessed against annual allowances for individual DREs, detailed in the factsheet.

This means that I can, of course, provide evidence to support a higher claim of DRE but this will involve quite a bit of work.

For example, How do I work out the amount of electricity used in powering his air-mattress or keeping his hoist charged? 

My point is this. Sometime around 2019 or earlier, I only have details from then to now, £25 was deemed an appropriate amount for disability related expenses. 

The type of expenses are subject to inflation so why has the amount stayed the same?

Do other local authorities do the same? 

Does anyone have any advice on how to best calculate and evidence disability related expenses?

Thanks

Here are my calculations for 2023-24. Contributions are calculated in advance.

The RPI rates used were taken from the office for national statistics website on 31st March

March 2019 RPI Index Rate: 285.1  (January 1987 = 100)
February 2023 RPI Index Rate : 364.5
Difference to March 2019 : 79.4
%age Difference (79.4 / 285.1) = 27.85%
Adjusted DRE Band 3 (£25 x 1.2785) = £31.96

DRE Band Change per week = £6.96

Per Year (£6.96 x 52) = £361.92

Hypothetical numbers for 2024-25
If DRE stays the same and inflation remains at 10% then for 2024-25 the predicted difference is £10.15 per week or £527.80 for the year.

Albermarle

We have a very similar situation ( different local authority ) and had briefly discussed these points within the family quite recently, but your post motivated me to have a closer look at our latest  figures, just received for the coming financial year
Benefit income has increased by more than 10% and the minimum income guarantee by 10% exactly. However like with you the DRE items have not increased, and not for about 3? years. In the case of our CC, the DRE has specific items and not a standard cost . In our case they amount to just over £40 per week , so we are also losing out due to the lack of any inflationary increases.  However a couple of points to make.

1) Not sure the CC would use RPI in any calculations. The increase in CPIH over the same period is quite a lot less at 17% ( inflation being almost non existent in 2019/2020)
2) We otherwise get a pretty good care package and have recently had agreed extra respite nights, which are like gold dust.
3) Luckily as a family we are financially OK
4) My OH has confirmed that our CC will also need justification for any increases in DRE allowances, and will not just apply an inflationary factor.

So overall we are a bit reluctant to start kicking up a fuss about relatively modest amounts. Plus as you mention, it is not easy proving all this expenditure with receipts etc down to the last Pound or two.
Our usual tactics with social services generally is to let sleeping dogs lie, and take a holistic view of the whole package.
Probably if they do have a review at some point talking about making savings , that will be the point were we will bring up the subject of DRE allowances not increasing, as part of the negotiations.

Cyclamen

Sigh DRE is such an absolute pain to so many of us.

It is for me worth jumping hoops for the financial assesment and standing you ground and pushing for actual costs not what they think is  standard under DRE

Eg my authority gives a standard £3.50 ish for allergen specific diet per week.. my reality is far higher.. i have gone as far as a spreadsheet comparing the difference between the price of my bread and my husbands, dairy free milk, ready meals, fish fingers, to show just how much more expensive it is for me than someone without all the food allergies/trigger foods

then my county has a set amount for maintenance of one wheelchair and try to stick to tat.. but I have two wheelchairs,a rollator etc.. 

its well worth saving any reciept that is because of a health or disability purchase rather than a standard cost 

electricity i couldnt get more for .. they compared my bills against those of other homes in the area.. as i live in a fairly affluent area where it could logical be considered that bigger homes and more disposable income would naturally pay more in electric than me who is very careful with it .. i recieved no support 

laundry its standard here of about £4 per week for extra laundry 

water doesnt count as can get capped tarrif under water safe

extra clothing .. wear and tear .. replacing equipment.. tickets for a carer/pa to accompany the DP holder etc.

How i did it  (thankfully a different system for me now and NHS dont charge contributions)

I kept a ring binder with punch pockets labelled .. house, equipment, pa costs, health and supplements etc and put reciepts in as i went .. an excel sheet for the common food items in my tesco shop that were more expensive due to disability.

then every year i'd sit down and send photocopies or photos of all the reciepts along with a list... this woudl reduce my contribution down considerable but I was still paying quite a chunk each week despite being on income related benefits.

Good luck