1. How many letters regarding charges have been issued to how many carers across the borough – why is this happening now?  

• There are 213 customers affected by these changes  
• Customers have been getting certain expenses allowed when calculating the amount that they have to pay for respite care  
• In some cases these expenses were wrong / inappropriate
• A full review has taken place for every customer who is affected 

2. Is the council putting charges up from, in some cases, £12 to £84 per week for respite care ?

No – there have been NO increases in charges

• What has happened is that each customer has had a review of the expenses they claim against their income.
•  In effect, following a review of the allowances that were being claimed, we  have disallowed some expenses that were not appropriate.
• An example may be a customer claiming that expenses for leisure items i.e DVDs and CDs – other items claimed include beauty treatment , massage, cinema visits, should be offset against their income when a calculation of what they can afford to pay is made. The customer is in respite and would therefore not be incurring these expenses on those days.
• These allowances were not being applied fairly across the service and were incorrect – we have no intention to reclaim any overpayments from customers.
• The  weekly amounts suggested above  are misleading as they suggest that customers use the scheme every night of the year – most use it for around once or twice per week.
• As an example a customer receiving £250 per week in benefits would pay around £11 for a night at a centre. 
• The average number of nights at the centre is 50 per year. As such the amount paid for customers will increase by around £350. That is £7 per week.
• Some people take their respite in the form of staying for a week , This costs RMB around £1500 but the customer is only charged around £70

 3. How are the charges calculated?  

• There is a financial assessment of each individual customer and they are then told how much that would have to pay for a night of respite
•  This is a statutory scheme that applies right across the country and is not defined by Rotherham.
• The average payment for a night of respite ( bed/ board / care ) would be £11 – this still represents exceptional value.
• When we are assessing the amount that needs to be paid we do NOT take into Mobility Allowance /Disability Living Allowance / Independent Living Fund.
• We ignore any earnings when calculating the amount that should be paid

4. What is the weekly /daily cost of council respite care?  

• The amount that it costs RMBC is an average of around £200 per night.
• The amount paid by the customer is between £0 and £11 per night.
• These charges are fair.   

 5. How many respite care centres does the council operate across the borough?

• Six. Places are limited and in some cases there are waiting lists
• The centres provide excellent bespoke support and are very popular
• The amount charged for a 24 hour stay is LESS than having a care service for ONE HOUR
• The centres are highly valued and as such we have no plans to close any of the services. 

6. Does Rotherham Council care about carers ?

• It is precisely because we do recognise the need for respite that these exceptional services are available
•  The price charged per night is based on ability to pay
• We recognise the importance of respite care for carers and do all we can to encourage such breaks
• We have recently opened a Carers Centre that is the flagship for carers services across the borough