| CIRCULAR SWSG13/93 5455
THE CIRCULAR IS RETAINED.. SEE SWSG8/96 FOR CURRENT
GUIDANCE
21 June 1993
Dear Colleague
COMMUNITY CARE: NATIONAL ASSISTANCE (ASSESSMENT OF
RESOURCES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 1993
GUIDANCE ON CHARGING - AMENDMENT 1
Summary
1. This Circular advises local authorities of Regulations
which amend the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and
encloses amendments to the guidance which was issued with these regulations under cover of
Circular SWSG13/92 dated 31 December 1992. Notification is also given of changes to
Residential Allowance entitlement for residents who are temporarily absent. Note that
further amending Regulations were made later in 1993 and new guidance issued on 21 January
1994 under Circular SWSG5/94.
Background
2. Amendments to the National Assistance (Assessment of
Resources) Regulations 1992 have been made because of the replacement of the Independent
Living Fund by its successor Funds, the introduction from April 1993 of the Child Support
Agency, changes made to Income Support legislation and the need to clarify some provisions
of the Regulations. The amendments contained in the National Assistance (Assessment of
Resources) (Amendment) Regulations 1993, were brought into effect on 22 April 1993.
3. The changes made by the amendment Regulations are
reflected in the amended pages of the Guidance on Charging. The pages have also been
amended to clarify the previous Guidance on other issues. These cover 2 Annexes for
inclusion in the Guidance address 2 charging issues about which local authorities have
made the most enquiries: personal expenses allowances on entering hospital, and Attendance
Allowance/Disability Living Allowance entitlement.
Further Guidance Updates
4. As the local authority charging rules are now mainly
aligned with the Income Support rules, changes to the Income Support rules and the rules
of other social security benefits, such as Disability Living Allowance, may have a
knock-on effect on them. The Scottish Office will continue to liaise closely with the
Department of Health and Department of Social Security to ensure that any relevant changes
in social security legislation, including decisions made by Social Security Commissioners,
are considered and that amendments are made to the local authority charging rules where
appropriate.
5. Local authorities will be informed of these changes
through departmental circulars, Guidance amendments and revised regulations, although this
does not of course absolve local authorities from their responsibilities to keep
themselves abreast of relevant changes in the law. The frequency of amendments will depend
upon the importance of the change but it is envisaged that a composite collection of
amendments will normally be produced about twice a year.
6. To minimise the number of amended pages and the need to
amend cross-referenced paragraphs, newly introduced Guidance paragraphs are given the
number of the paragraph they follow plus a suffix (see, for instance, new paragraph 1.021A
in the attached Annex). Deleted paragraphs have been left as "spare" to allow
scope for the insertion of future amendment paragraphs. The Guidance pages that
immediately follow paragraphs in which guidance has been amended or introduced, although
not containing new or amended guidance themselves, have had to be included in the
replacement pages in the attached Annex in order to achieve continuity. The Department
will consider a complete revision of the Guidance paragraph numbering in the light of
further amendment packages. Whenever amendment packages are produced local authorities
should ensure that they keep the replaced Guidance pages and the amended regulations in an
archive record. This is particularly important in order that the basis of earlier charging
assessments can be seen clearly and understood.
Action
7. Local authorities should substitute the Guidance pages
in the attached Annex for the pages already in the Guidance, and should initial and date
the Records of Amendments sheet at the back of the Guidance to indicate that this has been
done. Local authorities should also replace the National Assistance (Assessment of
Resources) Regulations 1992 with the version of those Regulations attached to this
circular, which has printed at the back, the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources)
(Amendment) Regulations 1993.
Residential Allowance - Temporary Absences
8. Local authorities should note that the Department of
Social Security recently announced changes to the Residential Allowance entitlement of
residents who are temporarily absent from residential accommodation. Instead of ceasing
after 6 days absence, Residential Allowance will remain in payment for up to 6 weeks if
the absence is in hospital, or for up to 3 weeks where the absence is for any other
reason. These came into effect on 31 May.
Regulations
9. Copies of the regulations can be obtained from HMSO, 71
Lothian Road, Edinburgh.
Contact Point
10. Please direct any enquiries concerning this circular or
enclosures to Mr Trevor Hall, Social Work Services Group, Room 44, James Craig Walk,
Edinburgh EH1 3BA
(telephone 0131 244 5455).
Yours faithfully
GAVIN ANDERSON
SW13/1993 ANNEX
CHARGING FOR RESIDENTIAL
ACCOMMODATION GUIDANCE
AMENDMENT NUMBER 1: MAY 1993
Make the following amendments to the Guidance.
Remove: Replace With:
Contents in full: 3 pages Contents in full: 3 pages
Section 1: page 3/4 (1.013 to 1.025) Section 1: pages 3/4
to 4A (1.013 to 1.025)
Section 3: page 9 (3.013 to 3.014) Section 3: page 9 (3.013
to 3.014)
Section 4: (in full) pages 10 to 12 Section 4: (in full)
pages 10 to 12
Section 5: (in full) page 13 Section 5: (in full) page 13
Section 6: (in full) pages 14 to 29 Section 6: (in full)
pages 14 to 29
Section 7: (in full) pages 30 to 33 Section 7: (in full)
pages 30 to 33
Section 8: (in full) pages 34 to 51 Section 8: (in full)
pages 34 to 51
Section 9: page 52 (9.001 to 9.004) Section 9: page 52
(9.001 to 9.004) page 57/58 (9.018 to 9.021) and page
57/58 (9.018 to 9.021)
Section 11: (in full) pages 65 to 70 Section 11: (in full)
pages 65 to 70
Section 13: pages 75/76 (13.001 to Section 13: pages 75/76
(13.001 to 13.008a) and 79/80 (13.015 to 13.022) to
13.008a) and 79/80 (13.015 to 13.022)
Annex D
Annex E
Note this amendment on the record of amendments sheet at
the end of the Guidance. |
