Purpose

To give an update on the outcomes from the cash budget policy
and funding review consultation, and to agree if proposals should
be adopted.

Content

 Resolved: 
 

1.    
That the Adult Social
Care Cash Budget Policy Post-Consultation Report
be endorsed.
 

2.    
That the Adult Care Cash Budgets Policy, as set out in
Appendix 1 of the report, applicable from December 2025, be
approved.

 

3.    
That funding for personal assistants, procured via a cash
budget be approved.  £16.67
per hour for new recipients from December 2025. Existing recipients
would transition to £16.67 per hour from April 2026, and a
transitional funding payment of £3.00 per hour would be
payable up to April 2027 for existing cash budget recipients using
their cash budget to pay for a personal assistant.
 

4.    
That the following approach in relation to the reinvestment
of savings be approved:

 

In recognition of the feedback received during the
consultation, a portion of the savings generated through changes to
the funding model be allocated to a dedicated fund to support
recipients who, due to the complexity of their needs, were required
to pay a Personal Assistant above the Real Living Wage. The
supplementary funding would be applied on a case-by-case basis,
subject to robust governance arrangements. The approach ensured
that individuals with the most complex support needs were not
disadvantaged by the standard funding model, while maintaining
transparency and accountability in the allocation of additional
resources. £260,000 of the savings would be reinvested into
the fund each year.
 

5.    
That the procurement of the Personal Assistant Register via
the G-Cloud framework, for a contract period 3 +1+1 (5 years) at an
estimated value of £115,000, be approved.
 

6.    
That the service commission a provider for the provision of
employer liability insurance for people using their cash budget to
employ a Personal Assistant via a compliant Light Touch procurement
route, for a contract period 3+1+1 (5 years) at an estimated value
of £156,800 be approved.
 
Reasons for decision
The Adult Care
Cash Budget Policy had been developed to provide guidelines and a
framework within which cash budgets operated within the Adult
Social Care directorate to ensure consistency of experience and
processes. The use of cash budgets had changed over recent years
with more people now using the funding to employ their own personal
assistant rather than purchasing care from an agency.
 
Following feedback
from users of cash budgets it was felt there was a need to change
the way support was funded and provided via a cash budget to
improve equity, and to support people better with their employer
responsibilities when using cash budgets to purchase their own
care.
 
The proposed
arrangements included a commitment to reinvest a proportion of the
savings generated through the changes to the funding arrangements.
The reinvestment would be used to strengthen the support offer for
recipients, particularly those employing Personal Assistants. Key
enhancements included the development of a Personal Assistant
Register to improve recruitment and quality assurance as well as an
improved training offer, which helped to ensure Personal Assistants
were equipped with the skills and knowledge required to deliver
safe and effective care. Investment into digital infrastructure was
also planned, including the exploration of online chat facilities
to provide real-time support and guidance to recipients. These
measures aimed to improve the overall experience and outcomes for
individuals receiving support via a cash budget, while also
promoting sustainability.
 
The changes to the
funding for Personal Assistants meant the policy was more equitable
and that people funded by the Council to provide care and support
were funded at the Real Living Wage.
 
Transitional
funding was proposed to give people who draw on care and support
time to adjust their contractual arrangements with staff where
payments were not currently in line with the
proposals.  A three-month public
consultation had been undertaken regarding the new proposals and 56
responses were received, mainly supporting the changes (full
details were set out in section 11 and Appendix 2 of the
report).
 
The route of the
Personal Assistant Register procurement will be via a direct award
through the G-Cloud framework. The Register would include a list of
vetted suppliers whereby cash budget customers could choose who
they wished to appoint on the framework. The G-Cloud 15 framework
was managed by the Crown Commercial Service and was designed to
help public sector bodies procure cloud-based services including
hosting, software, and support. The route of procurement avoided
the need for lengthy procurement processes as they were
competitively tendered so that councils could quickly appoint
suppliers without repeating full procurement cycles. This was a
transparent process compliant with the Procurement Act 2024 and
promoted value for money through rigorous supplier vetting. The
framework would offer a compliant and scalable procurement route.
Due to the low value of the framework, it was considered as low
risk, and this was the recommended option of STAR legal and
procurement team.
 
The route for the
provision of employer liability insurance would go via a light
touch approach via a direct award. These routes allowed contracting
authorities to use more flexible procedures when procuring services
that fell under the light touch category. Due to the nature and low
value of the contract there were no frameworks available - so the
service will go out to market via a procurement exercise and would
be supported by STAR procurement and the Council’s legal
team. It was anticipated the light touch procurement exercise would
commence in November 2025.

 

 
Alternatives considered
Not to review the
Cash Budget Policy – this option was not recommendation, as
it was considered best practice to regularly review the Policy to
ensure it met legal obligations and the key principles upon which
it was based.
 
The last review of
the Policy had been undertaken in 2015. 
Not reviewing the Policy could detrimentally impact the
reputation of the Council.