The following letter was sent to Cllrs Gary Allen and Brenda Harrison of Hartlepool Borough Council, inviting them to a meeting to discuss proposed Telecare charges in the borough.
Local charities offered time to meet with the council, but no one at the council responded!
The letter was co-signed by several service providing charities locally that work with disabled people.
To: Cllr Gary Allen: Chair of Adults and community-based services committee
Jill Harrison: Executive Director of Adult and Community Based Services
Cllr Brenda Harrison: Leader of the council
CC: Cllr Quewone Bailey-Fleet, Cllr Moss Boddy, Cllr Bob Buchan, Cllr Ben Clayton, Cllr Fiona Cook, Cllr Gordon Cranney, Cllr Rachel Creevy, Cllr Rob Darby, Cllr Matthew Dodds, Cllr Martin Dunbar, Cllr Tom Feeney, Cllr Gerard Hall, Cllr Pamela Hargreaves, Cllr Philip Holbrook, Cllr Michael Jorgeson, Cllr John Leedham, Cllr Jim Lindridge, Cllr Sue Little, Cllr Corinne Male, Cllr Andrew Martin-Wells, Cllr Shane Moore, Cllr Melanie Morley, Cllr John Nelson, Cllr Karen Oliver, Cllr Scott Reeve, Cllr Aaron Roy, Cllr Martin Scarborough, Cllr Cameron Sharp, Cllr Leisa Smith, Cllr Carole Thompson, Cllr Christopher Wallace, Cllr Steve Wallace, Cllr Mike Young, MP Jonathan Brash
27th August 2024
We are Difference North East, a disability rights organisation giving a voice to disabled people from across our region. We are run by disabled people for disabled people, and our aim is to change perceptions of disability, eliminate discrimination and build a fairer, more equal North East in which to live, work and study.
There are 16 million disabled people in the UK, the highest proportion of those living in the North East. In your area of Hartlepool there are an estimated 21,145 disabled residents.
We ask that you pause the implementation of Telecare charges in Hartlepool.
We understand that from 1st October 2024 Hartlepool Council plans to bring in charges for its Telecare services, the costs of these ranging from £5.00 to £14.40 per week. Plus, an additional one-off charge of £46 for installation of a key safe.
We were concerned that in the initial committee report on 09/11/23 there had been little to no consultation with existing telecare users, their carers, residents or VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) partners. Instead, it appears consultation was only held with other local authorities in relation to a best pricing structure. A recent report by the Disability Law Service found that very few councils were fulfilling their public sector equality duty when imposing charges on disabled adults by “Lack of consultation with relevant stakeholders (Disabled people’s organisations, service users). Absence of a mechanism to regularly review the charging policy. Failure to assess the costs and benefits of the charging policy in force. Limited exercise of discretion in waiving some or all charges.” We believe it is only by designing and commissioning services in co-production with local people that you will see the real impact and risk of these changes could bring.
We are concerned that the full implication and impact of these new charges has not been assessed properly; that local people will be left at risk if they cannot afford, or refuse to pay, these charges. We want to also express concern about the potential wider impact this will have on local VCSE, advocacy and support organisations, who are not equipped to manage the individual nuances of peoples at home care systems.
Hartlepool resident Ms Margaret Cass told the BBC in July 2024 “I feel like crying, it’s terrible…Sometimes I feel ashamed because I haven’t got the extra £40 a month. Don’t take it off us, it’s a lifeline.”
It simply costs more to be a Disabled Person
Ms Cass raises a vital point, the reality is that life costs more for disabled people and their families, spending more on essential goods and services like, heating, insurance, equipment, and therapies. In fact, Disability related extra costs are equivalent to 63% of a disabled household’s income, after housing costs.
The average disabled household (including at least one disabled adult or child) faces extra costs of £975 per month. Further, a 2023 All Party Parliamentary Group of MPs (Member of Parliament) on Poverty (APPG) inquiry, found that Disabled people are almost three times as likely to live in material deprivation in comparison to the rest of the population (34 % vs 13%).
The Trussell Trust report that nearly 7 in 10 (69%) of those referred to its food banks are Disabled people. As these charges are proposed to be introduced In October, as we approach the colder months, it is important to note that 41% of Disabled people said they could not afford to keep their homes warm, compared to 23% of the non-disabled population. An issue that may be exacerbated this winter for residents with the recent changes to the winter fuel payments and the increase in the energy price cap.
These extra costs mean Disabled people have less money in their pocket than non-disabled people, or they go without. And that is what is at risk here, that local people will give up their vital telecare services, services that keep them safe and independent in their own homes, to afford their other basic living costs. Given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, care charges are exacerbating the problems experienced by Disabled people and pushing them deeper into poverty, affecting both their mental and physical health.
We were disappointed to see in the committee report the suggestion that these proposed charges are going to generate income for the council, we quote from the report; “The introduction of charges for this service will generate income to contribute to delivery of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy. It is anticipated that income generated in 2024/25 will be in the region of £400,000 with the full year effect of up to £832,000 achieved by the end of 2025/26”. We would highly recommend that, if implemented, the proposed charges are at cost and no additional charges, intended to accrue profit, are passed on to Disabled people and other Telecare users.
We would also encourage the council to consider its charging policy to ensure disabled and older people are not paying VAT on products and services, for which they are VAT exempt.
We understand the previous decision was to bring these charges into effect from July 1st, 2024, and that this was delayed following the General Election. As a newly formed council, with newly elected members, we ask that you do not proceed with these proposed charges. You have the opportunity to work with local people, their carers and trusted representatives to design a telecare option that works to best meet their needs and enable them to live independently and safely in their own homes.
Our recommendations
- Our recommendation would be for Hartlepool Council to entirely scrap these proposals, this is an extra levy placed only on elderly and disabled people and it is not fair. Social care is not a luxury, it is a human right. We encourage Hartlepool Council seek to learn from Hammersmith & Fulham Council, who are the only local authority in England where non-residential care is free at the point of use for Disabled residents and shows what can be achieved when councils work alongside d/Deaf, Disabled people and their representatives.
- If Hartlepool council decides it is unable to scrap these proposals, we would urge you to pause the implementation of these charges with immediate effect until you can carry out a full and meaningful consultation with telecare users, their carers and their trusted representatives which would look at the full risks and impacts associated with these changes.
Thank you for your consideration of the issues and points that we have raised.
Yours Sincerely,
Claire Andrews
Difference North East
We welcome a time to meet and discuss further.
The organisations below would welcome a pause of this implementation to allow for further consultation and are available for a wider discussion about Telecare charges.
We have provisionally held open a space in our diaries on Tuesday 3rd September between 1:30pm and 3:00pm and a representative would be available at this time to further these discussions if you would like to organise this.
Organisation and contact details.
CLIP (Community led inclusion partnership) [direct contact details removed]
Difference North East [direct contact details removed]
Incontrol-able [direct contact details removed]
Hartlepool Charity 1: [direct contact details removed]
Hartlepool Deaf Centre [direct contact details removed]
Hartlepool Charity 2: [direct contact details removed]
Hartlepool Charity 3: [direct contact details removed]
The Artrium [direct contact details removed]
Please note: The above list of organisations does not, and cannot, represent all Telecare users in Hartlepool. We would encourage a wide consultation of all Telecare users and their identified supporting organisations.