Considerations when calculating IPBs under the Care Cap

Senior councillors responsible for adult social care across England have recently expressed concern that the Government’s adult social care charging reforms are ‘potentially hugely underfunded’.

There is consensus that the reforms will increase the pressure on already over-stretched services including unmet and under-met needs, greater strain on unpaid carers, and increased waiting times for assessments and delivery of care packages.

Here at Imosphere, we have been undertaking extensive work with local authorities (LAs) across the country to ensure they have solutions in place to mitigate many of these issues and manage the expected surge in demand for new assessments and accurate Independent Personal Budget (IPB) calculations for self-funders in preparation for October 2023.

A defensible and transparent method when calculating IPBs

The new Care Cap guidance sets out some requirements which LAs need to adhere to, but LAs have been given free choice regarding the method used to determine IPB figures for individuals who will be funding their care from October next year.

At Imosphere, we have evaluated Formulate - England’s leading tool for estimating accurate personal budgets - against these requirements, and we and our current LA clients are confident that it is the wisest choice for local authorities - and will prove to be a vital piece of the jigsaw because:

  • Most methods currently used by LAs for setting indicative PBs will be difficult to defend should their use be extended to calculating IPBs - where the figures provided to individuals have increased meaning and impact.

  • LAs expect to see an increased number of challenges from individuals whose IPBs are set to a lower level than the cost of the care they are choosing to buy.

  • New legislation compliance needs to be met from October 2023.

Choose ‘tried and trusted’ for setting IPBs as part of the funding reforms

Formulate has been actively used by LAs across the country for over 10 years to calculate indicative Personal Budgets. We have worked directly in partnership with LAs to ensure that it continually develops in accuracy and reliability, based on the evolving needs of the LA and legislation. We’re confident it will offer the highest available level of defensibility in the context of setting Independent Personal Budgets from 2023.

Contact us today if you have any questions, or to book a short, informal chat to discover how Formulate can help you to meet the ‘Care Cap’ requirements in the upcoming national funding reforms.

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