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Fairer Charging

If your contract with Supporting People is a SUBSIDY CHARGEABLE contract, then you will already know that a service user who is on Housing Benefit is passported to a free Supporting People service. However, did you know that the service user could potentially have some or all of their charge paid for by Supporting People if they apply for a fairer charging assessment?

A fairer charging assessment is essentially a means test, it will involve an assessment officer visiting the service user to determine how much the service user should pay towards their housing related support costs. If the service user is in a contracted service, then Supporting People will pay the difference between the contracted support charge and the assessed charge as calculated by the assessment officer. As a provider, you will collect the assessed charge from the service user.

A service user cannot be compelled to receive a financial assessment if they are content to pay the charge from their own resources.

To apply for a fairer charging assessment, you will need to fill in a Supporting People Eligibility Checklist (SPEC)  (496.50 KB) jointly with the service user and send the completed form to the Community Care Finance Team, to the address on the form. It is important to fill in the form completely, including the support provider/service name/service id, otherwise we will not be able to process the application.

Please attach a note to this form, or telephone the Community Care Finance Team to notify the assessors if there is any reason why the service user should not be visited alone.

Please share this information and this application form with front line staff and service users in Supporting People contracted services.