Out-of-the-blue phone calls about an urgent review?

Several members have contacted the PB Team saying that they have recived phone calls, out of the blue, saying that a social worker wants to do an urgent review. Or that they said that they want to "come to visit, just to see how things are going" but then push for this to happen in a very short space of time.

This could well be because the Social Services is supposed to review people yearly but might not have been so efficient in the past! Some people are being told that they have to complete forms (SAQ, permission for a financial assessment etc) during the meeting - without having been told in advance.

If you do get a call out of the blue, please don't feel pressured into dropping everything to try to fit in with demands for a quick assessment.

You are within your rights to:

• ask them to call back at a different time,
• say that the date they want to visit isn't suitable and request a different date - even if they say it is urgent,
• say that you want someone to be present during the review (this could be a friend, a neighbour, a partner or even a member of the ADKC PB team),
• ask for the review to be held at a place that suits you - in your home, in the council offices, or even at the ADKC centre.
• ask for forms to be sent to you in advance or, if they bring them along on the day, ask for time to read them properly, including taking them away and having someone else go through them with you, before filling them in. If you need forms in an alternative format - ask them to provide the forms in the format you need. You might not even have to fill the form in anyway!
• ask them to stop, at anytime during the review, if you feel unwell, uncomfortable or under too much pressure. If you don't feel completely happy about what is happening, you probably won't have a good outcome.
• ask for a copy of the review and any other documents / forms after they have been filled in.

IN ALL THE CASES I KNOW ABOUT, THE CALL WAS GENUINE, but if you have any doubts, you can do the following (as advised by the Police):

Phone calls - If you are unsure that the person on the phone is really a social worker, ask them to send you a letter saying the time they will phone to make an appointment and the name of the person who will phone - don't give them any details - if the caller is genuinely from the Social Services they will have all  your details on record anyway.
You could also say that you will call back. Phone the Social Services Helpline 020 7361 3013 and ask to speak to the person in charge of your case, if they confirm it was a Social Worker who called you can  make arrangements for them to call you again. If they say it wasn't a social worker then ask them to report the bogus call to the appropriate person.

Home visit - If you are visited at home and are unsure that the person visiting is the person from the Council - DON'T LET THEM IN.  They will be more than happy to wait until you phone the Social Services Helpline on 020 7361 3013 to confirm who they are.  If you do let them in and then have doubts that they are really from the Social Services - leave the home if possible, go to a neighbour's and call the Police. The Police are more than happy to come out if someone has doubts about a visitor, even if it turns out that the visitor was genuine after all. If the person makes excuses and leaves, call the Police and let them know what happened, just in case they try the same thing with other people.

If you have recently experienced pressure to get a review done, or have any problems from now on, please get in touch with the PB Team on 020 8960 8888, pbadmin@adkc.org.uk or pbsupport@adkc.org.uk.

Have your say - Human Rights / Independent Living

The Joint Committee for Human Rights (a group of MPs tasked with ensuring people's human rights are not breached) has sent out a "Call For Evidence" concerning how government changes are going to affect disabled people - particularly:

The decision announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review to remove the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance for all people living in residential care

Changes to the Independent Living Fund

The "Big Society"

Restrictions on local authority funding, social care budgets and benefits reassessments

Increased focus on localisation and its potential impact on care provision, and, specifically, on portability of care and mobility for disabled people.

You can find more information about how to contribute at the bottom of the following webpage:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/news/independent-living-inquiry-launch/

The Independent Living Fund (an organisation that, until a year ago, used to provide funding for disabled people to live independently) is one of the organisations affected by the spending cuts - they have already sent in a response. You can see what they have to say at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/ilf-dilnot-submission.pdf

Prepaid cards

Love them or hate them, you can now read all about them -

http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/PDF/PB%20prepaid%20visa%20card%20leaflet.pdf

PB user group dates -Feb - May 11

Do you already get a personal budget? Are you in the process of getting a budget? Do you have to pay for care yourself because you are not entitled to a personal budget?

If the answer to any of the above is YES, then you are welcome to come along to ADKC’s Personal Budget User Group!

The next meetings are on:
Monday 28th Feb

Wednesday 30th March

Friday 6th May

They are held at the London Lighthouse, in Lancaster Road, from 1.30 to 3.30pm.

The agenda differs from meeting to meeting but they always cover topics that the group members have expressed interest in.

Meetings are your chance to:

• get to know other PB users/self funders,

• air difficulties/share their positive experience,

• get peer support and group problem solving,

• get feedback about other relevant meetings that other members have attended

• develop guidance and policy around personal budgets in Kensington and Chelsea

• take part in consultations about social care, PBs and other relevant topics

• speak with guests invited by the group

• work on specific issues

• have your say on how the ADKC Personal Budget Project is run and -

• do anything else the group wants!

If you would like to come along to one of our meetings please let us know. The PB Team can be contacted on 020 8960 8888 or by email at pbadmin@adkc.org.uk (Martha) or pbsupport@adkc.org.uk (Jenny). Please let us know if you have any access requirements such as large print, Braille or BSL interpreter. The venue has full access for wheelchair users.

You can also use the above contact details to find out about other services the PB Team provide including:

• advocacy during assessments

• help with filling in SAQs, financial assessments and financial monitoring

• information about agencies, payroll providers and insurance

• help with employment responsibilities

• managed accounts etc

  

The ADKC Personal Budget User Group

Employers spot - holiday pay and leave for Personal Assistants/ care support workers

If you directly employ people to help you, rather than using an agency, you must make sure that they get all the holiday they are entitled to.

By law, every employee (not workers who are self employed) is entitled to 5.6 working weeks paid holiday a year, even if they have only just started working for you. If you get a PB to use to employ people you must make sure that your Personal Budget has enough money to cover this when the support plan is drawn up.

How much do I pay them?
You have to pay the same amount per hour as they would be recieving if they were at work. So if they usually earn £8 per hour when they work for you, you also have to pay £8 and hour as holiday pay.

How many days holiday are they entitled to?
If they work 1 day a week they are entitled to 5.6 days off,
If they work 2 days a week, this is 11.2
If they work 3 days a week this goes up to 16.8 days off
If they work 4 days a week they can get 22.4 days off
And if they work 5 days of the week they can get 28 days off.

If they work 6 days though, they can still only get  28 days holiday (the only exception is if the employer provides a better package but this is usually in larger organisations rather than individuals employing care workers).

You can also work out how much holiday someone is entitled to in hours, for example if they always work 15 hours a week but the number of days they do changes. The web link below can help with this.

Why are they allowed paid leave?
The government recognises that it is not health to work all the time. Workers must take at least 4 weeks leave (the other 1.6 working weeks leave can be carried over if you allow this etc).

What about if they don't work for me for a whole year - how do I work out how much holiday they are entitled to?
If someone doesn't work for you for a whole year you have to give them a proportion of the full amount of holiday - there is a holiday entitlement calender that you can use to help you work this out http://online.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/logicToolStart?itemId=1079427397&r.l1=1073858787&r.l2=1084822788&r.l3=1084822795&r.l4=1079427399&type=BLTTOOL

Can I ask my worker (or can my worker ask) to work all of their normal hours and have the holiday pay on top, as a sort of bonus?
In the past you could - NOW YOU CAN'T. Holidays are there for health and safety reasons and offering payment instead of taking the time off encourages people not to take the time off. This is dangerous to the worker and could be for you! If a worker doesn't take their holiday entitlement they lose it.

The ONLY time you can pay if they haven't taken their holiday is when they leave employment with you - you have to make sure that their last pay packet contains any money owed to them for holiday that hasn't been taken.

Do tax office need to know if someone is getting Holiday Pay?
Yes and no.
YES - Holiday pay counts as earnings even though they aren't actually at work- so you have to make sure the Tax man knows about any holiday pay you give. For example, if a person usually works 5 days a week (at £100 a day or £500 a week), but on this particular week they work 3 days and take 2 days as holiday - they would get 3 days normal pay (£300) and 2 days holiday pay (£200) which is they amount they would have earned anyway if they hadn't taken holiday. It is important, when you or a payroll company is calculating the wages and payments to the tax office, that the holiday pay is included in the calcualtions.

NO -You don't have to tell the tax office seperately how many days, or how much, holiday pay a person gets - just their overall earnings including holiday pay.
Of course if you have any questions you can always email or call the PB Team.

Calculating your PB (the "RAS").

People always ask how the Council decides how much PB to allocate to a person - in the interests of transparency I have decided to explain!

1 The social workers assist you to do the SAQ or self assessment questionnaire. This is the one where they give you a set of multiple choice answers and you have to decide which fits you best - A, B, C, D or E.
2 There is a computer program, which is called the RAS - or Resource Allocation System,  that calculates how many "points" you have, according to which answer you gave on the SAQ. The it converts "points into pounds" to come up with an amount that the Social Services believes is adequate for you to meet your needs. This is called the "indicative amount".
3 Sometimes the Social Services will say that amount that the "indicative amount" isn't enough - so in certain circumstances they might decide to give you more.

So how many points are there? Well different aspects of daily living receive different numbers of points. For example - if you need help with personal care you get more points than if you only need help around the home.  Here is the key!

1.1: Meeting Personal Care needs
Thinking about your personal needs:	Score
A) I am able to manage my personal care needs.	0
B) I occasionally need help with my personal care, perhaps once or twice a week and with specific tasks (bathing, shaving, taking medication).	1
C) I need help with my personal care, perhaps once a day.	2
D) I often need help with my personal care, perhaps twice a day.	8
E) I need constant help with my personal care, more than twice a day.	12
1.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0
	Final Score for Question
2.1: Night Care
Thinking about your nightcare needs:	Score
A) I have no nightcare needs.	0
B) I occasionally need help at night, perhaps once or twice a week and with specific tasks	1
C) I need help every night, perhaps once a night.	2
D) I often need help at night, perhaps twice a night.	8
E) I need constant help at night, more than twice a night.	12
2.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0
	Final Score for Question
3.1: Careworker/s
Thinking about your need for additional careworker/s:	Score
A) I have no need for additional careworker/s in addition to family/friends or other persons	0
B) I occasionally need additional help from careworker/s, perhaps once or twice a week and with specific tasks (bathing, shaving, taking medication).	1
C) I need additional help from careworker/s with my personal care, perhaps once a day.	2
D) I often need additional help from careworker/s, perhaps twice a day.	8
E) I need additional constant help from careworker/s, more than twice a day.	12
	Final Score for Question
4.1: Eating and Drinking (Nutritional) needs
Thinking about your eating and drinking needs:	Score
A) I don't need help at mealtimes. I manage eating, drinking and preparing my own meals.	0
B) I need help with the preparation of some meals and drinks, ensuring foods are within their sell-by date and cooking them safely.	1
C) I need all my meals and drinks prepared for me.	2
D) I need all my meals and drinks prepared and served to me. I need some help to guide or assist with eating and drinking.	8
E) I need all my meals and drinks prepared and served to me. I need a lot of help with eating and drinking.	12
4.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0
	Final Score for Question
5.1: Practical aspects of Daily Living
Thinking about practical aspects of daily living:	Score
A) I manage these day-to-day tasks myself.	0
B) I manage most day-to-day tasks myself but need help with one or more specific tasks (such as particular housework tasks, laundry or shopping). I need this help once or twice a week.	1
C) I manage some day-to-day tasks myself but need help with several specific tasks (such as particular housework tasks, laundry or shopping). I need this help three or four times a week.	2
D) I need help with most day-to-day tasks (housework, cleaning, shopping, managing finances, correspondence etc). I need this help daily.	4
E) I need a lot of help with all day-to-day tasks (such as housework, cleaning, shopping, managing finances, correspondence etc). I need constant assistance.	6
5.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0
	Final Score for Question
6.1: Risk of Harm in the Home
Thinking about your own safety and risks:	Score
A) I don't need help to stay safe. I've rarely done things that could endanger myself or others and people are not generally concerned for my safety.	0
B) I need a little help to stay safe, at specific times and with certain activities. I've occasionally done things that could endanger myself or others and people are sometimes concerned for my safety.	0
C) I need frequent help to stay safe with various activities - I need this help at least three times a week. I've occasionally done things that could endanger myself or others and people are sometimes concerned for my safety.	0
D) I need help to stay safe the majority of the time and with most activities - I need this help daily. I've occasionally done things that could endanger myself or others and people are concerned for my safety.	8
E) I need constant supervision to stay safe with all activities. I often do things that endanger myself or others and people are very concerned for my safety.	12
	Final Score for Question
7.1: Safety and Risk Getting Around
Thinking about your orientation and mobility needs:	Score
A) I don't need help to make journeys inside and / or outside of the home.	0
B) I am capable of making most journeys without help inside and outside of the home. I sometimes need assistance with long, difficult or unfamiliar journeys.	0
C) I need some help to make journeys inside and / or outside of the home. There are some journeys I can manage, mostly inside, but these are very few.	0
D)  I need frequent help to make most journeys outside of the home. I can get around inside the home.	2
E) I need help to get around inside of the home most of the time.	6
F)   I need help with all journeys. There are no journeys I am able to make on my own inside or outside.	10
7.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0
	Final Score for Question
8.1: Choice and control
Thinking about how much choice and control you have:	Score
A) I don't need help to make choices or decisions. I make day-to-day as well as bigger decisions about my life. I may need a bit of advice occasionally but I have full capacity and understanding.	0
B) I am able to make most choices and decisions. I make day-to-day decisions but I need support when making bigger decisions about my life (Or information is sometimes in a format that is inaccessible to me and I need help with this).	0
C) Other people make the majority of the decisions about my life. I need support to make more decisions.	6
D) Other people make all the decisions about my life. I need a lot of support to take greater control of the decisions made on my behalf.	11
8.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0
	Final Score for Question
9.1: Relationships, Family and Friends
Thinking about your relationships, friends and family:	Score
A) I'm content as things are. I don't need support to maintain the friendships I have or see my family.	0
B) I occasionally need support to maintain the friendships I have and see my family. I need this support once or twice a week.	1
C) I need frequent support to make new friends, maintain the friendships I have and see my family. I need this support at least three times a week.	2
D) I need support the majority of the time to make new friends, maintain the friendships I have and see my family.  I have one or two friendships but not enough for me. I need this support at least four times a week.	4
E) I need support all of the time, every day to make new friends and see my family. I don't have any friendships outside my family and carers and this affects the quality of my life.	6
9.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0
	Final Score for Question
10.1: Work, Leisure, Learning and Enjoying Life
Thinking about your work, leisure and learning needs:	Score
A) I am content as things are. I have the opportunities I need to work and/or learn new things. I take part in the community activities that I wish.	0
B) I occasionally need some support to make the most of opportunities to work and/or learn new things as well as take part in the community activities that I wish. I need this support once or twice a week.	1
C) I need frequent support to develop opportunities to work and/or learn new things as well as take part in the community activities that I wish. I need this support at least three times a week.	2
D) I need support the majority of the time to develop opportunities to work and/or learn new things as well as take part in the community activities that I wish. I need this support at least four times a week.	4
E) I need a lot of support all of the time, every day to develop opportunities to work and/or learn new things as well as take part in the community activities that I wish.	7
10.2: Thinking about Informal Care:	Factor
How much support are your family/friends or other persons willing and able to provide to support you in this area?	0

Informal care  - factor of 0 for no support, 0.1 for some support, 0.33 for full support and 0 for can't continue with this level.

And here (according to my calculations) are the number of £s you get according to my rough calculations:

points / £

1-2=        £0

2-7 =      £16

8-13 =     £32

14-19 =   £48

20-28=    £64

29-32 =   £80

33-37 =   £96

38-39 =   £112

40-41=    £128

42-43 =   £144

44-45=    £162

46-48 =   £176

49 =         £178

50-51 =   £208

52-59=    £224

60-63=    £225

64-67=    £256

68-69=    £288

70-73=    £353

74-81=    £416

82-85=    £512

86-88=    £544

89-91=    £656

92-100 = £1088