West Sussex County Council consults on adult care fees

The consultation, which runs until June 6, covers residential and nursing fees for older people, working age customer groups and domiciliary care services.

This is the first time the council has conducted a formal consultation on this subject with the provider market in West Sussex.

Providers will be able to fill out an online survey for each service they provide and give their views on the proposed fee levels for this year.

They will also be able to attend a number of discussion events with various provider forum representatives.

This is designed to give the council a better understanding of the actual cost of delivering care in West Sussex.

Among proposals, the county council is recommending that fees rise by 2.57 per cent from April 2012 for residential and nursing care for older people.

However the proposal is for fees to remain the same for adult care providers of services for learning difficulties, physical and sensory impairment and acquired brain injury, mental health and drug and alcohol.

Additionally, the proposal is for fees to remain at existing levels for domiciliary care providers.

Once the consultation has closed, responses will be evaluated and taken into account before any recommendations are made.

Graham Tyler, deputy cabinet member for adults’ services, said: “We want to hear the views of providers at this formative stage, on the proposals and for them to support us to understand the actual cost of care.”