Why we have to charge for some services
Adult Social Care Services
East Lothian Council provides and arranges care services for a wide range of people in the county. Many of these services are free but in some cases we ask people who use services to make a contribution towards the cost of those services.
Services that may incur a charge include:
- Personal support at home organised by East Lothian Council / Health and Social Care Partnership, (excluding personal care), for individuals over 18 years - e.g. meal delivery
- Attendance at day centres, resource centres or other community based support sessions
- Arranging personal transport
When setting service charges:
- We never charge more for a service than it costs us to deliver that service.
- In most cases, the charges we raise are much less than the cost of the service.
It is important for us to make these charges as the income helps us ensure we can provide high quality support.
When setting the charge, we consider an individual's ability to pay, the maximum charge that can be applied, cost-effectiveness to deliver the service, equity, transparency, compliance with national guidance and discretion for exceptional circumstances.
Types of charges:
- Flat-rate charge: this is where everyone pays the same rate.
- Means-tested charge: an assessment is undertaken to determine how much an individual will pay for a service.