Supporting Independence

Changes to Adult Social Care eligibility criteria

Lincolnshire residents requiring adult social care services the most will have their needs met for the future, Lincolnshire County Council has pledged, following the change to its eligibility criteria.

The Executive Committee of Lincolnshire County Council made the decision to change Adult Social Care’s eligibility criteria threshold at their meeting on 4 October.  In a move to bring the authority in line with almost 80% of other councils nationwide, funding will be targeted more effectively to finance those in substantial and critical categories. The change will see those people assessed as having moderate needs no longer receiving support, but all those in this category will be reassessed and it is expected that many will be raised to substantial, and other support plans in place for those who do remain in the moderate bracket.

Cllr Graham Marsh, Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Supporting People, said:

“A growing elderly population and increasing demands conflicts with a decreasing budget, so it’s essential for the future wellbeing of the people who need our services the most that we focus our help and resources on them. In times of unprecedented financial challenges, Adult Social Care need to save a huge £39m over the next four years. We do need to limit the amount of people who receive funding, rather than spreading the money too thinly and seeing no-one receive the quality level of service they need. Our Over 65s population is expected to double by 2033, so we need plan for now and the future. 

“The change to our eligibility criteria will see Lincolnshire join almost 80% of authorities nationwide in funding people with Substantial needs and above – in fact some only fund those with Critical needs. This will ensure our services are in place for the future to support and improve the lives of around 13,000 people.

“However, we’ll also take significant steps to limit the impact of change for those who are affected. Of the 3,096 people living at home currently classed as Moderate, over 50% are having their needs met through equipment, such as powered bath seats and Telecare. These people will remain unaffected and will be able to keep their equipment.  The remaining 1,509 will be reassessed and, if a sample survey of 300 proves accurate, approximately half of these will be moved up to Substantial. For the few hundred people that do remain in Moderate, they will then be supported every step of the way in finding new services. During a transition period, they will be given access to independent brokerage or referred to First Contact to discover a raft of local opportunities to meet their needs and help them stay independent.

“There will also be continued investment in prevention and reablement services.  £2.5m of funds in partnership with the NHS will be used to develop preventative services over the next two years.

This follows a 12-week public consultation to find out the views of local residents and an additional, in-depth study into the potential impact.

This is Lincolnshire’s first change to the threshold since Fair Access to Care was introduced in 2002.

The change will take effect from Monday 17 October for all new people assessed and needing support.   All existing customers with moderate needs will have a reassessment in the coming months to identify current needs and where appropriate provide help to identify alternative sources of support.  

Further details can be found in the Executive report on the downloads tab of this page.

For further information about our strategy for prevention please follow this link.

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For more information about the reablement services follow this link.