CONTENTS
1. Introduction
People with care and support needs may decide to move house just like anybody else, for example to be closer to family and friends, to pursue education or employment or simply because they want to live in another area. Alternatively, they may be placed in specified accommodation (that is residential / nursing care, shared lives, supported living or extra care) in another local authority area either because the right support is not available in their local area, or because they want to live in a particular place. Whatever the reason, the same issues must be considered. These are:
- consideration of the support which the person (and any carers they have) may need in order to effect the move and in the aftermath;
- making sure appropriate information is passed between the two local authorities to facilitate good continuity of care;
- consideration of whether the person’s ordinary residence will transfer.
The aim of this policy is to make sure the person and their carers will be able to move with the confidence that arrangements to meet their needs, including funding arrangements will be in place on the day of the move.
The key to achieving this is that both Hull City Council and its partner local authorities work together and place the person and their carers at the heart of the process.
2. Support for People considering a Move
When someone is considering a move out of Hull, they should be provided with all relevant information and advice to help them make an informed choice. Much of the information will be publicly available, but the person may need support to access and understand it. Workers from Hull City Council may provide advice if this is requested, but must not seek to influence the decision of the person.
If someone is considering moving into Hull, they should be provided with any information they request. If they need support to understand and process that information, it should be provided by the local authority in which they are currently living.
If someone is facing a move out of area because no suitable provision exists in Hull which can meet their needs, they must be helped to retain as much control as possible. This will include being provided with information about the options open to them.
3. Ordinary Residence
It is essential to establish where the person’s ordinary residence lies, and where it will lie after the move. Ordinary residence determines which local authority is responsible for providing support and for funding services. See also Ordinary Residence and Establishing Ordinary Residence.
If someone is in receipt of support under S117 (see Section 117 Aftercare), is living in specified accommodation (that is residential / nursing care, shared lives, supported living or extra care) or has been assessed as needing that type of accommodation, it is likely that their ordinary residence will remain with the local authority they are moving from. This means that responsibility for ongoing support, review and funding rests with that local authority.
If the person is in receipt of, or has been assessed as needing any other type of support and is choosing to move, it is likely that their ordinary residence will transfer. Support up to and including the day of the move should come from the local authority they are currently living in, but any support thereafter should come from the new local authority.
If the person lacks the capacity to choose (see Mental Capacity) and has not been assessed as needing specified accommodation but their family wants them to move, there is a process the local authority must go through. A formal best interest decision making meeting must be held (see Best Interest Decision Making) and if it finds that:
a) it is in the person’s best interest to make the move, and
b) that if they did have capacity they would choose to move, it is likely that their ordinary residence will transfer.
More detailed guidance is contained in the Hull City Council Ordinary Residence Practice Guidance and should be referred to when establishing where the person’s ordinary residence is.
4. Preparing for the Move
4.1 Confirming the intention to move
When someone in receipt of adult social care support tells the social work team or their worker about their plans to move, the worker must discover whether the intention is firm and genuine. All duties conferred by the Care Act 2014 flow from the point at which the genuine intention to move is confirmed. Someone may express a vague desire to move but not have a genuine and firm intention to carry it out. They may have a genuine intention to move at some point, but not imminently.
If someone lacks the capacity to consent to a move, but their family want them to move to be closer to them, the local authority in which they are currently living must first carry out supported decision making, to see if the person can then make a capacitated choice. If they cannot, even with support, then the worker must make a formal assessment of capacity and where necessary, follow the best interest decision making process as described in Section 3 above.
4.2 Sharing information
When the worker is assured that someone currently living in Hull fully intends to move in the immediate future, they should contact the local authority to which the person intends to move and inform them. Even if the person’s ordinary residence remains in Hull, it is important that the local authority in which they will live has some understanding of their care and support needs as they may be required to respond in an emergency.
If the person’s ordinary residence is transferring, the local authority to which they are moving should provide them and their carers with information about the care and support available to someone with their needs, information about the local market and information about their charging policy. This is to help the person work out whether there would be any change in their circumstances as a result of moving, which in turn helps them make an informed choice. The worker from Hull City Council should check with the person whether this has been done and progress chase this with the second local authority if it has not been. The worker should also check whether the person and their carers need any help to understand the information they have been given. If they do, the worker may be able to clarify information, or may arrange for an advocate to be provided. Once the firm intention to move has been established, both local authorities should identify a worker to lead on the case and to be the ongoing contact throughout the move.
If Hull City Council is notified that someone is moving into the area, it must identify a lead worker who should contact the local authority the person is moving from to make sure we have full details of the person and their carers, as well as copies of the most recent assessment and care and support plan. Unless the lead worker is happy to accept the care and support plan as it stands, they must contact the person and their carers to arrange for assessment and care and support planning to take place. Unless a new care and support plan is in place, the old care and support plan must be followed.
4.3 Financial considerations
It may be helpful to obtain a summary of costs from the original local authority, but as the usual cost of care differs from area to area, the level of the personal budget will need to be recalculated.
If the person receives a direct payment, the Hull City Council worker should advise the person about what they need to do to terminate contracts with providers or to serve notice on personal assistants who are not moving with them. The worker can do this directly or by putting the person in touch with others.
4.4 Arranging care and support
The local authority to which the person is moving is required by law to identify a named person who will arrange the care and support the person will need and ensure it is available from the date of their move. If someone is moving into Hull, a worker must be appointed who must make contact with the person, their carers and with the named worker in the local authority they are moving from. If someone is moving out of Hull, the worker should progress chase the nomination of a lead worker by the other local authority and make sure the person and their carers know who this person is and how to contact them.
To enable the lead worker from the other local authority to make appropriate arrangements for the care and support of the person moving to their area, the worker from Hull City Council must send them the following documents:
- a copy of the person’s most recent care and support plan;
- a copy of the most recent support plan where the person’s carer is moving with them;
- any other information relating to the person or the carer that the other local authority might ask for. This might reasonably include documents such as the most recent assessment if the person’s needs have not changed, the financial assessment, any relevant risk assessment and any safeguarding plan.
If the local authority to which the person is moving proposes any changes to the care and support plan, they must carry out a further assessment. If the person needs support to participate, they should also fund the provision of a suitable advocate. The assessment should be completed before the move, and the person should be involved in the development of the support plan which sets out how their needs will be met. All reasonable steps should be taken to agree the support plan and any changes should be explained.
If the person has health needs as well as social care needs, the local authority to which the person is moving should make arrangements with their local Integrated Care Board (ICB) to carry out a joint assessment.
5. On the Day of the Move
The person’s needs for care and support on the day of the move itself should be assessed and a care and support plan developed which details how their needs will be met during the move. The local authority the person is moving from is responsible for commissioning any support necessary during the move; the second local authority assumes responsibility once the person arrives in their area. The person is responsible for funding the costs of the move itself, such as packing and transporting their possessions and their own travel costs.
Any equipment which has been provided, which is still needed and which is suitable for use in the person’s new home should move with the person. If a piece of equipment is on long term loan from the NHS, the local authority to which the person is moving should discuss this with the relevant NHS body and agree the best way to ensure the person’s needs continue to be met.
Adaptations are designed to meet the person’s needs, taking into account the specific environment in which they are living. Therefore, it may be possible to arrange for some adaptations to be made prior to the date of the move, while the assessment for others may take place afterwards.
As far as possible, the assessment of the person’s care and support needs should have taken place prior to the move and arrangements made to ensure any eligible needs are met, but there may be circumstances where this has not been possible, for example if the move has taken place at very short notice. In circumstances such as these, the local authority to which the person has moved must carry out an assessment as soon as possible and in the interim must meet the person’s needs in the way set out in their original care and support plan.
6. If the Move does not take Place as Planned
There is a range of reasons why a planned move might be delayed, or abandoned altogether. If there is to be a delay, the local authority the person is moving from should notify the authority which the person is moving to in order to make sure they do not incur unnecessary costs. The local authority the person is moving from is responsible for funding their support until they have actually moved out of the area, so the authority they are moving to may seek to recover any unnecessary costs, particularly if they have not been notified in a timely fashion. However, if the move has been delayed because of circumstances which could not have been foreseen, and notification took place as soon as possible, authorities are encouraged to agree to cut their losses and consider whether it is reasonable to seek to recover their costs, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Both authorities should maintain contact with the person and their carers and should support them until a move has either taken place or has been abandoned.
