1. How many individuals is the local authority acting as an appointee for, please?
14 appointee cases.

2. How many of these individuals (in area or out of area) pays adult social care charges to the council for non-residential services?
Four.

3. Which department is responsible for administering appointeeship?
Deputyship Team, Assessments Service.

4. Which department is responsible for assessing social care charges?
Financial Assessments, Assessments Service.

5. How many officers in either department carry out an overlapping role with regard to appointeeship and care charges?
None.

6. How many times has the appointeeship team responded to a consultation on behalf of individuals or any group of benefits claimants regarding a change in the council’s charging policy, since 2015?
Not recorded.

7. How many appeals about care charges has the appointeeship team submitted to the financial assessment team since 2015?
None.

8. How many complaints has the appointeeship team submitted regarding care charges since 2015?
None.

9. How many times has the appointeeship team sought or referred individuals they act for, to independent advice (whether third sector, legal aid or privately funded) about care charges, since 2015?
None.

10. How many times has the appointeeship team questioned the accuracy, fairness or legal validity of individuals’ care charges or the council’s charging policy, since 2015?
Six.

11. Does the council treat appointeeship as a Care Act service? If so, does it charge for that as part of the Care Act charging system?
Yes it is treated as a Care Act Service and charges are based on the Local Authorities Fees structure.

12. How much does it charge, if it makes a charge, per month or per week or per year, please?
Depends on the clients assets. Charge once a year, charge is 3.5% of clients assets at time of reporting. Max charge is £650 if level of savings over £16K, if below we will take not exceeding 3.5% of the assets on the anniversary. Annual property management fee, if applicable, amount not exceeding £300.

13. If appointeeship is not provided for through the Care Act, does the council allow for a DRE deduction from Disability Benefits income, for the charge it makes for appointeeship (assuming a person is otherwise chargeable)?
Not applicable.

14. If the council does not operate appointeeships for adult social care clients, does the council permit a full DRE deduction from Disability Benefits income, for any charge levied by any other corporate or private appointee (assuming a person is otherwise chargeable)?
Not applicable.

15. In respect of all council clients who are currently in receipt of adult social care services, regarded as liable to pay a charge for their adult social care services, for whom the appointee role is currently undertaken - how is the relevant department holding the appointeeship responsibility proposing to manage the conflict of interest presented by the judgment in the Norfolk CC v SH case in December 2020, given that the decision means that other similar policies are presumptively unlawful? Please answer with a sentence or a paragraph; it is suggested that it is not a proper response to say that no decisions have been made, as yet, because the problem already exists.
The Council is aware of the recent judgement in the case of Norfolk v SH. We are in communications, as are many other LA’s, with the Department of Health & Social Care and the National Association of Financial Assessment Officers on this subject and legal advice is being sought.