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Guidance on choosing accommodation and additional payments Availability

  1. Local authorities have specific duties to shape and facilitate the market of care and support services locally, including ensuring sufficient supply. As a result, a person should not have to wait for their assessed needs to be met. However, in some cases, a short wait may be unavoidable, particularly when a person has chosen a particular setting that is not immediately available. This may include putting in place temporary arrangements – taking in to account the person’s preferences and securing their agreement – and placing the person on the waiting list of their preferred choice of provider for example. It should be remembered however that such arrangements can be unsettling for the person and should be avoided wherever possible. 
  2. In such cases, the local authority must ensure that in the interim adequate alternative services are provided and set out how long the interim arrangement may last for. In establishing any temporary arrangements, the local authority must provide the person with clear information in writing on the detail of the arrangements as part of their care and support plan. As a minimum this should include the likely duration of the arrangement, information on the operation of the waiting list for their preferred setting alongside any other information that may be relevant. If any interim arrangements exceed 12 weeks, the person may be reassessed to ensure that both the interim and the preferred option are still able to meet the person’s needs and that remains their choice. 
  3. Where a person contributes to the cost of their care following a financial assessment they must not be asked to pay more than their assessment shows they can afford. 
  4. In some cases a person may decide that they wish to remain in the interim setting, even if their preferred setting subsequently becomes available. If the setting where they are temporarily resident is able to accommodate the arrangement on a permanent basis this should be arranged and they should be removed from the waiting list of their original preferred setting. Before doing so, the local authority must make clear the consequences of that choice, including any financial implications.