Date of Request: 10/09/2015
Date of Disclosure: 05/10/2015
Request:-
“I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act for your Local authority:
Third Party Top-Ups
- (a) Could you confirm the total number of ongoing care home* placements in your local authority area where a third party top-up is paid for someone aged over 65? Please also specify what percentage of the total ongoing care home placements are funded through a third party top-up (*please include care homes with nursing in your response to questions 1-4)
(b) Of the total number of third party top-ups in your local authority area regarding a care home placement for someone aged over 65, please provide the percentage breakdown of those third party top-ups arranged between:
- i) the third party, the provider, and the local authority
ii) the third party and the provider
Can you please provide data for the following financial years?
1 April 2015 – 30 June 2015 (three month period)
1 April 2014 – 31 March 2015
1 April 2013 – 31 March 2014
1 April 2012 – 31 March 2013
Please provide this information in an Excel spreadsheet, if possible.
- How often does the council review individual third party top-up agreements for care homes in your local authority area? (please specify whether this review takes place as part of the service user’s annual review and how the third party is included).
- What percentage of those individuals who have entered a third party top-up arrangement with the local authority since April 1 2015 have been presented with a written agreement prior to starting the payment?
- What information and advice services are provided by your local authority to ensure people receive ‘sufficient’ information and advice prior to entering a third party top-up agreement? Please specify both online and offline sources (please attach any information materials made available if possible)
Does this include a referral to independent financial information and advice? (please attach any information materials made available if possible. We would be particularly interested to know if a directory is provided)
Eligibility for social care
- Of those people aged over 65 undergoing a care and support assessment for the first time, what total number and percentage of these people were found eligible for care and support? (we are interested in any care and support provided, including both domiciliary care and care home placements)
Can you please provide data for the following financial years?
1 April – 30 June 2015 (three month period)
1 April – 30 June 2014
1 April – 30 June 2013
1 April – 30 June 2012
Please provide this information in an Excel spreadsheet, if possible.
- Of those people aged over 65 already in receipt of care and support prior to 1 April 2015 who have received a review in the period 1 April – 30 June 2015, what total number and percentage of the reviews have resulted in:
- a) a decision that the person is not eligible and the council will not provide any care and supportb) a decision that the person does have care needs and the council will meet all of those needsc) a decision that the person does have care needs and the council will meet some but not all of those needs?
Wellbeing principle
- What measures, as part of the new eligibility process under the Care Act, does the council adopt when making a eligibility decision following a care and support assessment to determine what constitutes ’a significant impact on a person’s wellbeing’?”
Response:-
Unfortunately, Devon County Council (DCC) is unable to supply you with the information you request under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 public authorities are not obliged to comply with requests which exceed the cost limit of £450 (equating to 18 hours of time).
Whilst the information you have requested does sit within our electronic and paper filing systems, these systems are not set up to easily provide us with the type of information you have requested, as this is not the sort of information we would require for our own day to day business purposes.
Looking at the various elements of this request, DCC estimates that it would need to locate, retrieve and extract information from circa 46 different sources. We estimate that we would need to expend, on average, half an hour on each data source, totalling approximately 23 hours.
However, if you could refine the complexity and scope of your request to fit within the cost limit, as outlined above, we would be happy to review your request.