Review of contributions towards adult social care support

South Tyneside Council is reviewing the amount we may ask you to contribute if you need adult social care support. This is known as 'client contributions'.

Before we make any changes, we're asking people who use the service to have their say.

Our current contributions policy has not been reviewed since April 2016 as we have been waiting for updates to be made to national guidance before making any changes.

In this time there has been lots of changes to how people are paid benefits and allowances. This has meant the way people are charged for services can be sometimes complicated. 

Our allowances have been higher than neighbouring councils, as well as much higher than the government's minimum income guarantee (MIG) which ensures that you keep a level of income that covers your living costs.

The Council has subsidised adult social care costs for residents for almost a decade. Demand pressures continue to rise.

The subsidy is now unsustainable, and funding must be allocated to support those who need it most.

We will target support at the residents and parts of the borough that need it the most. This will help to reduce inequalities and make things fairer.

We take a balanced approach to setting our fees and charges and will continue to support where we can.

We know that some of our residents face financial difficulties. That is why we are determined to keep costs as low as possible.

We will continue to subsidise many services rather than go to full cost recovery.

What about the government Adult Social Care Levy

The Adult Social Care Levy means money is ringfenced for those services. But, because of the demand for services, there is still a big funding gap.

Even with the levy, there is not enough funding to cover the cost of adult social care services needed in South Tyneside.

This is because demand is growing as people live longer and have far more complex support needs.

The changes we are proposing aim to make contributions fairer and simpler.

We propose that we align contributions to the government's minimum income guarantee. This guarantee ensures you keep a level of income which covers your living costs.

They will also be similar to our neighbouring councils.

Anyone who uses adult social care services will be assessed, to make sure they have a guaranteed income. We can then define what their contributions will be.

The changes mean that if you contribute to your care now, you might pay more. It could also mean you could pay less when you are reassessed.

This will include the introduction of some new contributions.

We have put together some scenarios based on different individual circumstances, see example scenarios. These are examples only, to show what might change to a person's contributions when they are reassessed.

• Align our client contributions with the Department of Health's minimum income guarantee rate
• Disability Related Expenditure changed from many different rates to two rates (higher and lower)
• An annual recalculation of a person's weekly, non-residential contribution
• Introducing administration and arrangement fees for self-funding residents living in the community
• Introduce an extra allowance for home insurance (buildings only) for owner-occupiers
• Introduce a contribution for Wellbeing Support in extra care accommodation
• Development of an online contribution calculator and portal for residents
• Introducing a levy for setting up and managing Deferred Payments Agreements. This is for residents who are:
  • assessed as self-funding have secondary properties
  • in supported housing accommodation

These are proposals only. Before we make any changes, we want you to tell us what you think of the proposed changes. 

To have your say, visit:

Proposed changes to adult social care charges survey

The deadline to have your say on these proposed changes is Friday 9 May 2025.

Your responses will:

• help inform residents views in relation to our review of contributions towards adult social care support.
• help us consider any changes
• be used to help us continue to improve our services to our residents

Easy read guide

View the easy read guide explaining everything you need to know about the consultation.