(I'm grateful to my facebook folkie friend Melodeon Dan for inspiring the title of this post)
Earlier this year, after
nearly twelve months of waiting for responses from various parts and officers
of our Local Authority’s Adult Social Care department, Ferretfingers’ Support
Plan and Budget was finally approved.
His, and to an extent my, care needs were assessed and he was awarded
150 points which translates into £150 per week from the Local Authority to
spend on day centres, activities etc.
The Plan covers one day a
week at Community Care Day Centre and the same at Sunshine Farm, both of which
charge roughly £50 per day. At my
request the balance is rounded up to pay for two or three weekends of respite
care per year provided by a learning disability charity which I trust.
For reasons I don’t quite
understand, Sunshine Farm isn’t approved to get the full £50 from the Local
Authority. Ferretfingers has been
financially assessed and is required to contribute towards this providers’
service. For the past few years this has
been £8.77 paid by standing order from my bank account into the Local
Authority’s Direct Payment Scheme.
Last week we received a
letter from the Local Authority’s Direct Payments Scheme Personalised, Payments
and Recovery Team’s Personalised Support Officer (signed with a squiggle and no
name given). The opening paragraph of
the letter read;-
“We have become aware
that no contribution is currently getting paid into Ferretfingers’ Direct
Payment account, it is essential that this happens so as not to let the Direct
Payment account to become undermined.
Following a financial assessment the amount of Direct Payments
changed. You have been assessed as
having to pay a personal contribution of £19.26 per week.
"The following chart sets
out the Payments applicable to you from 08/01/2018.”
Then after a chart (incidentally as clear as mud)
“You will receive £30.74
per week as your Direct Payments for ongoing weekly services. This is paid directly into the Pre Paid
Current Account managed by <<Local Authority Name Redacted>> on
your behalf to buy services to meet your assessed needs as detailed in your
Support Plan.
"The Total Personal
Contribution Amount (figure in bold) should be paid into your Direct Payments
bank account weekly or monthly.”
There followed details of
the account’s sort code, account number and name.
As I have plenty to do
this letter was put to one side for when I had the strength and time to deal
with it (or as we say in Wenglish ‘the hwyl’)
Then on Tuesday I was
having the rare treat of a nice
cup of tea and a chat in Patisserie Valerie with DrD when my mobile rang. It
was the accounts guy at the Sunshine Farm asking me to chase <<Local Authority Name Redacted>>
because they are so behind in their payments for Ferretfingers' service.
When I got home I rang Direct Payments and spoke to the lovely Personalisation
Support Officer (he is lovely honest, I find most frontline staff usually are when you speak to them).
It transpires that Ferretfingers' Personal
Contribution hasn't been going in since last November because when they
"changed the firm that administers the system" his details were
somehow not transferred over. So the
Standing Order money went out of my account and bounced back in five days
later.
Yesterday I went into my bank to sort out paying
off the backlog (thankfully I have the funds) and organise another standing
order. The cashier, God bless her, was
remarkably understanding and efficient once she’d worked out what the letter’s
instructions meant.
As I’m not the sort of person to let these things
lie I prepared and emailed what my brother calls a snottogram to the Local
Authority (copied naturally to my local councillor).
“Further to your letter of 23/7/18 and our phone conversation yesterday
please find attached a jpg of a receipt from my Bank confirming payment of
£737.38 into <<Name Redacted Local Authority>>’s Direct Payments
Scheme, being the backlog of Ferretfingers’ Personal Contributions since last
November. I have also put a new Standing
Order in place to pay Ferretfingers’ reassessed Personal Contribution of £19.26
per week.
“I trust that Direct Payments will now be able to approve payment of
outstanding invoices from Ferretfingers’ care providers, and pay them once the
money has appeared on the account.
“My Bank has also cancelled the original Standing Order of £8.77 per
week which, since last November has been returned into my account as <<Name
Redacted Local Authority>> account had been closed. Had <<Name Redacted Local
Authority>> informed me that the account had been closed, and details of
the new account, I would have been able to amend the Standing Order
appropriately and immediately. We would
not be in the situation where Ferretfingers and I have had to find seven months
of Personal Contributions in one lump sum, nor have providers waiting for
payment.
“I am embarrassed that, by no fault of mine and with no knowledge, we
have been placed in debt.
“I am also concerned that other service users, with less financial
resources and ability than ourselves, have been placed in a similar position.”
Three things spring to mind
Firstly: The “organisation that administers the Scheme” was changed
and the account was closed last November and the “Payments applicable”
dates from January; why didn't they contact me until July?
Secondly: The changeover was back in November but nothing was done
until they sent me a letter last week. Even then the letter was worded with the
somewhat accusatory “We have become aware that no contribution is getting paid
into Ferretfingers’ Direct Payment account”. May be if they’d sent me the new details it
might have been.
The Local Authority
seem to have just not paid suppliers and left us all in the dark as to what the
problem might be.
And thirdly
Ain't outsourcing wonderful?!
POSTSCRIPT
In fairness I think I should include the email reply we received this afternoon (last November has changed to April 2017, so that's fourteen months without them noticing no money going in).
"Further to your
emails dated 08th August 2018, thank you for informing us that the
transfer of backdated contribution has been made, I can now confirm that the invoice has now been paid.
"First of all
may I apologise on behalf of the council that this situation has caused you to
feel embarrassed, this is certainly not a feeling we would ever want to cause
someone.
"As I indicated
during our call of the 7th August 2018, on looking through the <<name redacted new outsourced adminstrators>>
system no contribution payments have been received into this account from when
this account started in April 2017 up to the present which is around the time
the Council moved from using <<name redacted old outsourced adminstrators>> to <<name redacted new outsourced adminstrators>>, this was due to the
conclusion of the <<name redacted old outsourced adminstrators>> contract.
"I can confirm
that around April 2017 a letter in email format was sent out to all <<name redacted old outsourced adminstrators>> account
holders confirming and explaining the change of account and the need to reset up
standing orders, however we can only assume in respect to your case something
went wrong in this communication.
"Once again we
apologise for this situation and thank you for bringing it to our attention and
working with us to find a solution."
