Have your say on paying for disability care in future

PEOPLE in the High Peak are being asked to comment on plans to ask residents to pay towards their own care. Derbyshire County Council are planning to change the way some care services are paid for and who receives them.

The plans include asking people to contribute towards their care from disability living and attendance allowances they already receive to pay for it. The county council will meet the rest of the cost.

They also include raising the level at which people qualify for some forms of care - from moderate to substantial needs.

The authority is also consulting on two further proposals: to ask people to take out a warranty to cover the cost of maintenance and repairs of their own stairlifts, hoists and lifts and to end automatic top up grants for major adaptations to disabled people's homes. County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Care Councillor Charles Jones said: "We can no longer afford to carry on as we are and have no choice but to make changes. If we do nothing the worst case scenario would be a budget shortfall of around £90 million over the next five years. No one currently receiving our care services will lose them without a full assessment of their future needs."

People receiving disability living or attendance allowance would pay no more than £23.90 per week (at current rates) for their care. No income-related benefits, pensions or the value of main homes will be taken into account when calculating what people have to pay. People with savings over £50,000 will be asked to pay more, with a maximum payment per week of £200 for people with savings over £100,000.

More details of the plans will shortly be available on the county council's website at www.derbyshire.gov.uk. People can also leave their views or ask for a leaflet by emailing: yourviews@derbyshire.gov.uk.