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0019 2024/25
31/05/2024
Integrated Health and Social Care
All wards
Adult Social Care & Health Providers Fees and Rates 2024-25
This report proposes a range of fees & rates for all care providers for the FY 2024-25 and seeks permission to implement the proposed fees and rates following a period of consultation with the provider market.
The purpose of this report is to provide the Director of Adult Social Services with a list of proposed fees & rates based on a single fee rate to be implemented from April 2024 following a period of consultation with the provider market.
The proposed fee increases that the Council proposes to implement range from 7% to 9.15% and are based on a single fee rate. It is the view of the Council that this will support in creating a fair sustainable market across the care sector. The consultation exercise was conducted over a period of 2 weeks and closed on the 3 April 2024. The consultation asked for feedback on areas where the council may be able to support providers to deliver care and support in a more effective and efficient way, views on access to training and development opportunities provided by the Council, providers appetite for moving to a single rate framework, and general feedback on the proposed fees and rates for 2024/25. Feedback received from providers was mainly positive citing the introduction of a single fee framework as positive and an opportunity to introduce a cohesive and sustainable market in St Helens. The opportunity to explore access to training and development courses offered by the Council was also well received as training contributes significantly to providers non-staffing related costs. A total of 22 providers responded to the consultation and although the general feedback indicated that providers would like to see larger increases it is important to note that the Council has invested £6.4m in fee uplifts for 2024/25 and a total of £14m over the last two years. A total of 22 out of 90 providers responded to the consultation broken down as follows: Nursing and Residential Care (55.54%) Domiciliary Care (27.27%) Supported Living (18.18%) Extra Care (0 %) There are a total of 44 domiciliary care providers, 28 Nursing and Residential Care homes ,3 Extra Care providers and 15 Supported Living providers delivering care and support services in borough. The response rate represents just under a quarter of the consulted market (24.4%) and could indicate that the remaining 3/4 of the market consider the proposed fees and rates for 2024/25 to be acceptable. The CHC uplift for 2024/25 has still to be agreed by the St Helens Place. Information on the 2024/25 CHC uplift will be communicated to providers once this decision has been communicated to the Council. A full list of the proposed fees and rates (including proposed increases to non-statutory services) for approval has been included with this report for information. In order support the small number of providers who have expressed challenges with the proposed fees and rates an opportunity to meet with commissioners has been extended to all providers to consider ways in which care can be delivered to ensure all available funding is used efficiently and effectively.
The Director of Adult Social Services (DASS) is asked to approve the proposed fees and rates structure for 2024/25. It is the view of the Council that this will support in creating a fair sustainable market across the care sector and encourage a focus on quality. In addition to this the proposed fees and rates have been modelled subject to budget constraints and the financial environment within which the Council operates.
There is a risk that care providers could approach the Council in year to request uplifts to support inflationary pressures. In addition to this any requests for fee uplifts from out of borough providers may exceed the budgetary provision and introduce an additional financial pressure during 2024/25.
The consultation exercise provided an opportunity for providers to review the proposed rates and provide feedback in relation to any issues or challenges they feel may impact on their ability to provide care and support. The response to the consultation yielded a low response rate of just 24.4% of all providers invited to respond. This may suggest that the majority of providers agree with the approach adopted by the Council or did not feel strongly enough to provide feedback. Commissioners have extended the offer to meet with individual organisations who feel they would benefit from a wider discussion with the Council about the ongoing financial challenges they face. This will be done with a view to working with providers to look at ways they can maximise the funding available to ensure it is being used as effectively and efficiently as possible. Any significant financial risks will be reviewed in partnership with the Finance Business Partner and within the context of the current financial challenges faced by the Council.
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