Independent Social Care Assessment

Descriptions

Scope of Contract1.The recruitment and management of independent social workers to undertake social care assessments for disabled people so as to determine the social care and support they require to live independently in the community. It is envisaged this contract will cost up to £50,000 over a 6 month period, with the potential to extend up to £70,000 over a maximum of 12 months.Background2.The Independent Living Fund (ILF) was established in 1988 by the UK Government to make payments to disabled people throughout the UK to help with the additional cost of living independently at home. In 2015 the UK Government subsequently closed the ILF and transferred to the Welsh Government responsibility for providing support to those people in Wales who received payments. To ensure the immediate continuity of support the Welsh Government worked with local authorities to establish the Welsh Independent Living Grant (WILG) on an interim basis. This enabled authorities to make payments to people in Wales at the same level as they received from the ILF whilst the long term arrangements for support were considered.3. Welsh Ministers announced in 2016 that all former ILF recipients would in future have their social care needs met by their local authority’s social services, rather than receive payments separate to this. As a result former recipients have had a care assessment with their local authority and agreed a care plan to deliver their future social care and support to enable them to live independently. Nearly all of the 1,300 people affected have now had such an assessment, with the vast majority now receiving social care and support from their authority rather than separate payments.4. However, approximately 150 people have had their previous level of support reduced following their assessment, with wide variation between local authorities in the incidence of this. Consequently, Welsh Ministers have announced that those people who disagree with the outcome of their care assessment for this purpose should be able to have an independent care assessment. This is to provide a second opinion on their future care needs, separate to the local authority’s assessment, to ensure that original assessment was appropriate.Aim of Contract5. The aim of the contract is:•to recruit a determined number of self-employed registered social workers to undertake across Wales care assessments under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 to a timetable to be set (initially 6 months but with the potential to be extended up to a further 6 months);•to manage these social workers so as to complete these assessments at the request of local authorities in Wales;•to liaise with local authorities over these requests to ensure an appropriate social worker is provided to complete them in a timely fashion;•to ensure the relevant social worker liaises with the person who is to be assessed (and their family, carers and advocates as appropriate) to complete their care assessment, in a person centred and coproduced way as set out in the 2014 Act;•to ensure the relevant social worker reports the outcome of an assessment to the person assessed and the local authority in a timely and appropriate manner, and liaises with them to agree the social care and support to be provided locally to deliver the person’s agreed well-being outcomes;•to provide Welsh Ministers at the conclusion of all care assessments to be undertaken with a summary report of the process and the outcomes found.NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=91063.