Reforms could have a 'significant impact' on Darlington Council

The health and social care reforms led one councillor to ask: "Is it going to bankrupt us?"

The reforms under the new Health and Social Care Act were outlined at a Darlington Borough Council adults and social care scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday (August 23).

Joss Harbron, the council's assistant director of adult social care, said: "There are potential significant costs around these care reforms. We need to understand them.

"There could be potential increases to our social care debt but these things are all areas that we're discussing both regionally and locally at the moment. We've certainly got some plans in place."

Complex charging reforms will change how much people and the council will pay towards care.

"That will change the means testing around what people will be contributing," said Ms Harbron.

Darlington Town Hall. Picture: Northern Echo.

"The thresholds at the moment are around £23,000. If you have savings of £23,000 or more, you contribute to your care costs.

"From next year, we're looking at a threshold of between around £86,000 and £100,000 before you start contributing to your care costs.

"So a significant change. In terms of the public that is very much a positive. The impact on us as a local authority is that there could be significant costs.

"You would hope that would benefit individuals within Darlington."

People who fund their own care can also request to pay reduced "council rates" from next October.

"Again quite a significant change in the funding systems and the charging systems," added Ms Harbron.

The council is to gather information and compare charges for care homes and domicillary care in a "fair cost of care" exercise.

Ms Harbron said: "It's to try and equalise things across the care sector.

"There's going to have to be quite a lot of dialogue with care providers around what is equitable."

The council's adult social care will also be inspected by the Care Quality Commission for the first time since 2009.

"That has been reintroduced. That's quite significant to us," said Ms Harbron.

"If we are underperforming or if there are significant areas of risk, this will mirror what happens in Ofsted.

"The Secretary of State has powers to appoint a designated team or officer to actually deliver the support to adult social care in Darlington if we're underperforming.

"I think it is right and appropriate. We're a public organisation, we should be held to account."

Ms Harbron said the changes would affect training, costs and resources: "At the moment there is a level of funding that supports some of these reforms, but it flows through the NHS.

"And timescale is pretty tight. Charging reforms will require a lot of work through our financial resources."

Councillor Bryony Holroyd said: "Some of this sounds like it could be significantly more expensive. Is this going to bankrupt us?"

Cllr Bryony Holroyd. Picture: Northern Echo.

Ms Harbron replied: "I certainly would hope not. As a local authority we do have a good reputation around managing the public purse.

"In terms of the national funding... there is certainly support for providers over a period of three or four years.

"There is funding available for the implementation of the fair costs of care and that will go directly to providers.

"Nationally there's challenges around inflation, cost of living and these reforms were developed before that particular crisis came to the fore.

"It's very challenging at the moment.

"There will be elements of this that are going to be challenging to us.

"We need more detail and obviously we're waiting for further guidance from the Department for Health and Social Care."