+ ITEM NO: 7 Report To: Date: 4 February 2015 JOINT MEETING OF EXECUTIVE CABINET AND OVERVIEW (AUDIT) PANEL Executive Member/ Reporting Officer: Subject: Report Summary: Cllr Jim M Fitzpatrick - First Deputy (Performance and Finance) Ilys Cookson Assistant Executive Director (Exchequer Services) HOMECARE AND DAY CARE BILLING This report proposes a change from the current process of billing homecare and day care service users quarterly in arrears based on actual hours of care to invoicing monthly based on actual hours of care provided using the Councils Agresso system. Recommendations: (i) Service users are invoiced, via the Councils Agresso system, on a monthly basis on actual hours of care provided with effect from April 2015. (ii) Service users are invoiced, via the Councils Agresso system, on a monthly basis on planned hours of care in circumstances where a provider does not provide timely information to enable a monthly bill to be raised, effective from April 2015. (iii) Direct debit is promoted to new service users as the Councils preferred method of payment. (iv) A contract variation to a providers contract may be considered where the provider repeatedly fails to provide information on service users care hours. hat the revenue budget outturn position is noted; Links to Community Strategy: Policy Implications: Financial Implications: (Authorised by the Borough Treasurer) The provision of homecare and day care services links to the Supportive Tameside theme by assisting people to live independently and in the provision of robust financial support. This report addresses the matter of the frequency of invoicing service users for home care and day care services provided, and does not propose any changes to current policy or provision of services. The Council currently charges clients a total of approximately 2.6M per year for contributions towards their Homecare. These charges are based on individual client assessments to ascertain their affordability. The new process outlined in this report will improve collection rates (currently 23% as outlined in section 6 of this report) due to the automation of the recovery process. The customer journey will also be improved as more frequent billing will enable them to manage their personal cash flow by receiving regular monthly
bills. It is envisaged that where the Council invoices the client on the basis of planned hours of care rather than actual hours, an adjustment will be made to the subsequent months invoice to reimburse the client if required. Legal Implications: (Authorised by the Borough Solicitor) Risk Management: Access to Information It is intended that this revised process will bring consistency and constancy to the process. We know that most older people prefer to pay a set amount so that they are able to manage their finances. The current system does not allow for this. The revised process will be akin to those arrangements that people put in place for their utility bills. That said it is important that with any changes, even where impact is minimal that there is clear and effective communication in order to avoid complaints of maladministration. The risks identified at the time the policy was set have been reviewed in Section 8 of the paper. The background papers used in the preparation of this report and can be inspected by contacting Ilys Cookson Assistant Executive Director (Exchequer Services): phone: 0161 342 4056 e-mail: ilys.cookson@tameside.gov.uk
1. BACKGROUND 1.1 Exchequer Services are responsible for conducting financial assessments for care and collecting care charges on behalf of Adults Services, in accordance with the Department of Health Fairer Charging Regulations. These regulations will cease to exist in March 2015 as the Care Act 2014 contains regulations regarding charging for care and support under a single financial assessment framework, which becomes into effect from April 2015. 1.2 Service users are currently charged quarterly for day care and homecare services based upon the actual number of hours of care they have received as opposed to the planned number of hours of care as determined in their care assessment as detailed in their Individual Service Contract. As at November 2014 there were 2,057 accounts for homecare, 179 for day care and 210 people who receive both homecare and day care. 1.3 This report sets out the proposed change in the process of billing for care and support services from April 2015, from invoicing quarterly for actual hours of care provided to a monthly invoicing process based on the actual number of hours provided or hours planned to be provided where timely information has not been received from the homecare or day care provider. The assessment of care requirements and homecare/day care provided will not be affected by the change. 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 Tameside Council, like other authorities across the country, needs to make significant budget savings whilst continuing to provide vital social care services for its residents. 2.2 Care and support services currently provided to service users by the Council is currently a chargeable service. The process is such that a person s care and support needs are determined by Adults Social Care Practitioners, which includes identifying the number of homecare hours and / or day care hours required per week to meet that individuals care and support needs. The service user will sign an Individual Service Contract and following a care assessment, Exchequer Services will conduct a means tested financial assessment in accordance with the Fairer Charging Policy, to determine how much the person can afford to pay towards the cost of their care. Factors such as income and assets, investments and property are taken into account. 3.0 CURRENT POSITION 3.1 In order for bills to be issued based on actual hours of care provided, the Adults Finance Service require data from the Council s Homecare Commissioning Team. The Homecare Commissioning Team receive the data directly from the homecare and day care providers. Difficulties arise when the homecare and day care providers fail to provide this data in a timely manner and therefore there is a significant delay in bills being issued to service users. Not providing data in a timely manner can happen for a number of reasons such as the service user going into hospital or a change to the care package agreed as part of the Individual Care Contract or where the provider delays sending the information to the Councils Commissioning Team which in turn delays the information being received by Exchequer and enabling billing to take place. 3.2 Anecdotal information received from service users is that the current method of billing quarterly is confusing particularly where there may have been changes to the hours of care received for any reason. This makes reconciling care received difficult for service users due to the passage of time.
3.3 While the incidence of delays in providing information is low, any delay is resource intensive in terms of investigation. Invoices are currently issued to service users every quarter. This has a negative impact for both the Council and service user in relation to debt recovery as the debt can be up to three months old before the first invoice has been issued to the service user. In addition to this, it adversely impacts the customer s journey in relation to their personal budgeting. The current quarterly invoices are raised on the Abacus system. 3.4 Staff in Adults Social Care and Health are proactive in pursuing providers for information where delays occur and the number of occurrences of delays has fallen significantly over time. At the present time there are 5 out of 14 home care providers who are one week behind in providing the information. 3.5 Day care only service users receive a manually produced monthly bill for meals, drinks and transport, which is resource intensive, and can result in multiple bills having to be issued dependent on when information from providers is received. 3.6 Abacus does not automate recovery of monies via the issue of reminder notices wherever an account falls into arrears, nor does it have any management reporting tools. The Council s financial system Agresso, is currently used for the recovery of the majority of Council debt including Residential Care with the billing and recovery process being fully implemented onto the Agresso system in 2012. 3.7 For a new service user starting to receive homecare services, the current recovery process can take nearly 8 months before a case is referred to Legal for non-payment. This is because it can take up to three months to receive all the data from the providers in relation to hours of care provided followed by a further delay because non-payment from the first statement being issued will not be identified until the next invoice run is due (3 months later) and are manually checked. This means it can take up to 6 months before the case is referred to the Councils Debtors Service to be input onto Agresso and pursued for monies owed via a debt recovery process. 3.8 In addition to the current difficulties with quarterly billing and manual intervention on recovery cases, there will be an expected increase in the number of accounts in future as a result of the implications of the Care Act 2014. The Care Act has established a new legal framework and the Department of Health are implementing the Care Act in two parts. The first part of the Act is effective from 1 April 2015, and the second part of the Act is effective from 1 April 2016. It is anticipated there will be an increase in the number of service users who will require a financial assessment and therefore any efficiencies derived from changing the homecare billing and recovery process will help towards mitigating the effects of the additional administrative burden as a result of the changes that the Act will deliver. 4.0. PROPOSED CHANGE 4.1 It is against the backdrop of confusion caused by quarterly billing, delays in providers giving timely data, manual updating of accounts and recovery that a change to invoicing via the Agresso system is proposed. 4.2 An alternative way of working would be to continue to invoice service users based upon the actual number of hours of care provided, and, in the event of the provider not providing their data in a timely manner, affected service users would be billed based on the planned hours of care in accordance with their Individual Care Contract. Billing would take place monthly as opposed to quarterly. This process would assist service users in budgeting as the same amount would generally be payable each month.
4.3 Moving to monthly billing via the Councils Agresso system will bring efficiencies as the system offers a number of enhancements such as being able to collect variable charges due by direct debit as opposed to static direct debit charges on the Abacus system. Agresso can also take payments made by payment card, credit and debit cards and avoids manual intervention on accounts to amend payments as Abacus does not currently integrate with cash files. Using the Agresso system will improve collection rates due to the automation of the recovery process and improve the customer journey by enabling them to budget by receiving regular monthly bills. The change to Agresso would also provide a more efficient debt recovery process resulting in improved levels of debt recovery. 4.4 By implementing the full billing and recovery process onto Agresso it will deliver efficiencies by reducing the recovery process to just 50 days as opposed to 8 months under the current arrangements. Please refer to Appendix A, which highlights the current business process and the business process following the implementation of the billing process wholly onto Agresso. 4.5 In order for monthly invoices to be produced, the data from the homecare and day care providers will have to be submitted to the Homecare Commissioning Team in a timely manner. The Council will develop a timetable which will document the deadline for each monthly invoice period, in which the care provider has to provide the information. 4.6 If the care provider adheres to the timetable and provides the data on time, the service user who receives that care will receive a monthly invoice based upon actual hours of care. 4.7 If the care provider does not adhere to the timetable and does not provide the data on time, the service user who receives that care will receive an invoice based upon their planned hours of care, which is in accordance with their Individual Care Contract. 4.8 Where providers do not provide the data on time and submit information late, the Adults Finance team will update the system and the invoice will be adjusted accordingly on the next months invoice run. It is likely that for those service users who have received a bill based upon planned hours of care, to have a credit on their account as in the majority of cases, the number of hours of care provided is less than that planned on their Individual Care Contract. As Agresso has the functionality to facilitate variable direct debits, the payment required for the next monthly billing period will be automatically updated to reflect the new charge. This is a considerable advantage as the use of direct debits in collecting monies is a low cost, fast and efficient option and one to be promoted to all new service users. 4.9 Another improvement that Agresso offers is the ability to receive payments via the Council s automated payment line. This will release back office resource as payments are currently taken over the phone by an assessment officer. 4.10 At a time when social care funding is under unprecedented pressure, recovery of monies owed to the Council for services provided needs to be robust and efficient. All manual intervention would be eradicated as an interface will be implemented from Abacus into Agresso for invoices to be raised every month. 5.0 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 5.1 As with any change in process there are advantages and disadvantages, however it is clear that the advantages far outweigh the factors not to change the method of billing. 5.2 Advantages: The key benefits to the customer are as follows: Actual hours of care received will be billed monthly; More frequent up to date bills;
More ways to pay; Easier to reconcile bills to care received; Reduced queries and confusion caused by retrospective quarterly billing; Monthly bills facilitates better personal budgeting for services users; Greater flexibility with direct debit payments; and Automated payment line. The key benefits for the Council are: Automated payment line; Automated recovery process; More efficient timetable of recovery; Improved collection rates; Monthly billing; Integration between the Abacus and Agresso System for payments; All debt on one system; Management reporting functionality for analysis of bad debt and calculating bad debt provisions; Reduces back office resources in the Adults Finance team & the Corporate Debtors Service; Makes more effective use of staff resource; and Improved service delivery. 5.3 Disadvantages Planned hours of care will be billed wherever the service provider fails to provide the data in a timely manner of which a bill can be raised. Monthly invoices are reliant upon service providers will need to ensure that data is sent to the Councils Homecare Commissioning Team in a timely manner. Transfer of current account records to the Agresso system however this is not expected to be resource intensive and will be cost neutral. 6.0 FINANCIAL INFORMATION 6.1 A total of 92% of Residential Care charges was recovered in full for the financial year 2013/2014. The net collectable debit for Residential Care is managed wholly by the Agresso system. In comparison only 23% of Homecare charges has been recovered in the financial year 2013/2014 via the Abacus system due to the method of quarterly billing, query resolution delays and manual intervention for recovery. 6.2 The costs associated with the proposed change to the invoicing process is expected to be minimal in terms of resource costs for the transfer of data, and postage on notifying service users and homecare providers of the change. Audit approval will be required to ensure that all records balance between the existing Abacus system and Agresso at the point of migrating account records. 6.3 Efficiencies in terms of improved recovery is expected and in terms of resources however it is expected that the latter will be subsumed in the preparations for the single financial assessment process required as a result of the introduction of the care Act in April 2015. 7.0 COMMUNICATION 7.1 Moving to an improved method of monthly invoicing based on the actual hours of care will see service users notified in advance of the proposed change and an explanation provided as to what the change means to them. Please refer to Appendix B to view the sample letters which will be sent out in early February 2015. Support will be provided to any
service user who may require further explanation and/or some time to adjust to the change in process. 7.2 It is equally important to take this opportunity to write to all providers of homecare and day care services to explain the change and the importance of providing information on time in accordance with the timetable provided by the Council. Please refer to Appendix C to view the sample letters. 7.3 An indicative timeline for the changes to be implemented and communicated is as follows: Project Task Completed by Testing of interface between Abacus & January 2015 Agresso Migration of accounts outstanding on the February 2015 Abacus system to the Agresso system Correspondence & billing timetable February 2015 developed Letters issued to ALL service users and Early February 2015 homecare/day care providers to notify change in process Go live date 1 April 2015 8.0 RISK MANAGEMENT 8.1 Some service users may require further information on the changes which may result in an increase in telephone calls, however the letter to be sent to all service users should mitigate the risk of a high level of calls being received. Information and support will be given to any service user who may query the change of billing from quarterly to monthly based on actual hours of care received. 8.2 The risk of failing to deliver more effective, automated services through the use of technology could adversely impact on financial resources in terms of the recovery of monies. If monies owed for services provided are not pursued in a timely efficient manner this is a financial loss to the Council. 8.3 Without moving to monthly billing via the Agresso system the service may not be able to manage the increased levels of financial assessments, billing and debt recovery as a result of the changes in the Care Act. The caseload will undoubtedly increase, resulting in larger volumes of billing and debt recovery and the current arrangements using the quarterly method of billing from the Abacus system is not sustainable. 9.0 CONCLUSION 9.1 The only change for service users will be that a monthly bill will be received instead of a quarterly bill in arrears. The monthly bill will be based on actual hours of care provided which is the same process as now. Where information is not available a monthly bill based on planned hours will be issued and adjusted the following month. 9.2 Delays in receiving the timely and correct information from homecare and day care providers causes delays in billing for the customer, increased customer queries and increased resources to chase up the delay and manually amend records to produce a correct bill. 9.3 The current Abacus system cannot accept variable direct debit amounts or payment line transactions, nor can it progress any account to recovery or produce recovery reminders.
This requires manual intervention which is resource intensive and not an effective or efficient method of recovering monies. 9.4 The implementation of the Care Act will undoubtedly result in an increased caseload for the Adults Finance Team, which will put further strain on the billing and recovery process and future operations on the Abacus system will not be sustainable. 9.5 The proposal to bill service users monthly based on actual hours of care received via the Agresso system is considered to be the most effective and efficient way forward and payment by direct debit should be promoted. 9.6 Where information is not received from homecare and day care providers on which to base a monthly bill, the bill will be raised based on planned hours of care as detailed in a service users Individual Care Contract and then amended the following month to revert back to actual hours of care provided. 9.7 There are significant advantages to both service users and the Council with the approach to bill monthly rather than quarterly based as now on actual hours of care provided. 9.8 Efficiencies are expected in terms of resources and improved recovery of monies, however resources are expected to be subsumed into the increase in accounts expected as a result of the single financial assessment framework which must be implemented in April 2015 as part of the Care Act. 9.9 Communications will take place with all service users and homecare/day care providers and support provided wherever necessary. 9.10 There is a risk that the change may result in increased contact with the Council should service users wish to query the change in billing and there is also risk in not collecting monies in a timely and efficient way by the continued use of the Abacus system. 10.0 RECOMMENDATION 10.1 As set out on the front of the report
APPENDIX A Current Recovery Process Homecare Services commence. After 3 months Statement of account for an 8 week period is issued from Abacus. After 6 months 2 nd Statement of account is issued from Abacus. If no payment received Invoice will be issued via Agresso 20 days to pay. Reminder issued allowing 10 days to pay. Total of 8 months to reach Legal. Legal Memo sent to Adults to confirm if can continue with Legal recovery. Final notice issued allowing 20 days to pay. New Process Homecare Services commence. After 1 month invoice via Agresso 20 days to pay. Reminder issued allowing 10 days to pay. Final notice issued allowing 20 days to pay. Total of 80 days to reach Legal. Legal Memo sent to Adults to confirm if can continue with Legal recovery.
DRAFT LETTERS TO SERVICE USERS APPENDIX B Letter One: DRAFT LETTER TO HOMECARE SERVICE USERS Dear Changes to Homecare bills I am writing to you as you are in receipt of homecare services arranged by the Council. You will already be aware that that the Council charges service users for the homecare that they receive and a means tested financial assessment is conducted to calculate how much a person can afford to contribute towards that charge. This letter is to advise you that the bills which are usually sent to you every three months will change with effect from 01 April 2015. The current arrangement is that you are billed approximately every three months, and the charge reflects the actual hours of care you have received based on information given to the Council by your homecare provider. In line with the ongoing review of its business processes the Council is proposing to move to billing all service users on a monthly basis. The Council believes that a change to monthly billing will provide the following benefits: Enable service users to better manage their finances/financial planning; Reduce the number of arrears accruing, and service users tell us this would reduce concerns in relation to owing money they may not currently have Customers will have more options of how to pay such as over the telephone or on-line with a debit or credit card or by variable direct debit It will aid the Council in collecting service user contributions, based on improved ability to plan their finances and improve the Councils cash flow It will reduce the administration costs of the Council To support service users with the change to monthly bills, all homecare providers have been contacted by the Council in writing to advise that they must provide information in relation to the number of care hours provided in a timely manner. This will ensure that the monthly bill we send to you is as accurate as possible on the amount of care hours provided. In the event that your care provider does not give this information to the Council on time, your monthly bill will be based upon your planned hourly services which were arranged when your care plan was put into place by your Social Worker. Your bill will then be adjusted the following month when the information has been received from the care provider to reflect the actual hours of care. If you have any queries with the number of care hours detailed on your bill for any reason, please speak with your homecare provider direct. Your homecare provider will be able to deal with any queries which may concern you. The Council will write to you again to advise of your annual re-assessment effective from April 2015 and a new bill will be issued which will include details of how to pay.
Paying by Direct Debit is the most efficient and convenient method of payment. If you don t already pay by monthly Direct Debit you may wish to do so. If you do currently pay by monthly Direct Debit you can continue to do so, however, a new Direct Debit mandate will need to be completed. Please sign and return the enclosed Direct Debit mandate to the Council Offices, using the prepaid envelope enclosed with this letter. Please ensure it is returned by 2 March 2015. Should you have queries on the information provided above, please do not hesitate to contact the Assessment Team on 0161 342 3220. Yours Sincerely Ilys Cookson Assistant Executive Director Exchequer Services Letter Two: LETTER TO SERVICE USERS IN RECEIPT OF DAY CARE ONLY Dear Changes to bills for Day Care Services I am writing to you as you are in receipt of day care services arranged by the Council. You will already be aware that that the Council charges service users for attending day care, transport costs and meals and drinks and a means tested financial assessment is conducted to calculate how much a person can afford to contribute towards that charge. This letter is to advise of the following changes to your day care bills with effect from 01 April 2015: The current arrangement is that you are billed approximately every four to five weeks, and the charge reflects the actual frequency of attendance at a day centre which is based on information given to the Council by your day care provider. In line with the ongoing review of its business processes the Council is proposing to move to billing all service users on a monthly basis. The Council believes that a change to monthly billing will provide the following benefits: Enable service users to better manage their finances/financial planning; Reduce the number of arrears accruing, and service users tell us this would reduce concerns in relation to owing money they may not currently have Customers will have the option of paying by variable direct debit It will aid the Council in collecting service user contributions, based on improved ability to plan their finances and improve the Councils cash flow It will reduce the administration costs of the Council
From April 2015 day care bills will be issued in accordance with a planned monthly timetable, to avoid delays with sending bills out. All day care providers have been contacted by the Council in writing to advise that they must provide information in relation to the frequency of attendance and if you have used transport and had a meal and a drink, in a timely manner. This will ensure that the monthly bill we send to you is as accurate as possible. In the event that your day care provider does not give this information to the Council on time, your monthly bill will be based upon your planned attendance to day care which was arranged when your day care plan was put into place by your Social Worker. Your bill will then be adjusted the following month when the information has been received from the care provider to reflect your actual attendance at day care. If you have any queries with the day care charge please contact the Assessment Team on 0161 342 3220. The Council will write to you again to advise of your annual re-assessment of your contribution towards your day care services, effective from April 2015. Paying by Direct Debit is the most efficient and convenient method of payment. Please sign and return the enclosed Direct Debit mandate to the Council Offices, using the prepaid envelope enclosed with this letter. Please ensure it is returned by 2 March 2015. Should you have queries on the information provided above, please do not hesitate to contact the Assessment Team on 0161 342 3220. Yours Sincerely Ilys Cookson Assistant Executive Director Exchequer Services Letter Three: DRAFT LETTER TO HOMECARE AND DAY CARE SERVICE USERS Dear Changes to bills for Homecare and Day care Services I am writing to you as you are in receipt of homecare and day care services arranged by the Council. You will already be aware that that the Council charges service users for the homecare and day care that they receive and a means tested financial assessment is conducted to calculate how much a person can afford to contribute towards that charge. This letter is to advise you that the bills which are usually sent to you every three months will change with effect from 01 April 2015.
The current arrangement is that you are billed approximately every three months, and the charge reflects the actual hours of care you have received and frequency of attendance at a day centre, based on information given to the Council by your care providers. In line with the ongoing review of its business processes the Council is proposing to move to billing all service users on a monthly basis. The Council believes that a change to monthly billing will provide the following benefits: Enable service users to better manage their finances/financial planning; Service users will receive one bill which will include homecare and daycare including transport, meals and drinks received whilst attending the day centre; Reduce the number of arrears accruing, and service users tell us this would reduce concerns in relation to owing money they may not currently have; Customers will have more options of how to pay such as over the telephone or on-line with a debit or credit card or by variable direct debit; It will aid the Council in collecting service user contributions, based on improved ability to plan their finances and improve the Councils cash flow; and It will reduce the administration costs of the Council. To support service users with the change to monthly bills, all homecare and daycare providers have been contacted by the Council in writing to advise that they must provide information in relation to the number of care hours provided in a timely manner. This will ensure that the monthly bill we send to you is as accurate as possible on the amount of care hours provided. In the event that your care provider does not give this information to the Council on time, your monthly bill will be based upon your planned hourly services and planned attendance to daycare which were arranged when your care plan was put into place by your Social Worker. Your bill will then be adjusted the following month when the information has been received from the care provider to reflect the actual hours of care and attendance at daycare. If you have any queries with the number of care hours detailed on your bill for any reason, please speak with your homecare provider direct. Your homecare provider will be able to deal with any queries which may concern you. If you have any queries with the daycare charge please contact the Assessment Team on 0161 342 3220. The Council will write to you again to advise of your annual re-assessment effective from April 2015 and a new bill will be issued which will include details of how to pay. Paying by Direct Debit is the most efficient and convenient method of payment. If you don t already pay by monthly Direct Debit you may wish to do so. If you do currently pay by monthly Direct Debit you can continue to do so, however, a new Direct Debit mandate will need to be completed. Please sign and return the enclosed Direct Debit mandate to the Council Offices, using the prepaid envelope enclosed with this letter. Please ensure it is returned by 2 March 2015.
Should you have queries on the information provided above, please do not hesitate to contact the Assessment Team on 0161 342 3220. Yours Sincerely Ilys Cookson Assistant Executive Director Exchequer Services
LETTER TO PROVIDERS APPENDIX C Dear Re: Changes to the way the Council will bill Service Users I am writing to you because you are provider of homecare services procured by the Council to deliver services on its behalf. You will be aware that the Council, as it does with a range of other community services, charges service users for the home care they receive. This letter is to advise you that the way that bills are sent to service users will change with effect from 01 April 2015 and this change will impact on your organisation The current arrangement is that service users are billed every three months and the charge reflects the actual hours of care delivered which is the actual care is based on the reports provided by your organisation. In line with the ongoing review of its business processes the Council is proposing to move to billing service users on a monthly basis. The Council in it s consideration believes that a change to monthly billing will provide the following benefits: It will enable service users to better manage their finances/financial planning; It will aid the Council in collecting service user contributions, based on their improved ability to plan their finances; It will reduce the number of arrears accruing, which from feedback would reduce stress for the service users in relation to owing money they may not currently have; It will improve the Councils cash flow; and It will reduce the administration costs of the Council in chasing these arrears. Whilst the above does not directly affect the sevice you provide, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of your contractual obligation in providing accurate and timely information to the Council in order that each Service User is billed appropriately. I refer specifically to Schedule 8 of the Home Support Services contract, a copy of which is attached for your information. The Council has, on too many occasions, been placed in a position where information has not been provided in a timely manner and this has had an unnecessary adverse impact on the service user and Council resources.. This is particularly seen where service users have then been overcharged for the service as the Council raises a bill to service users which is based on planned hours rather than actuals causing distress for individuals and their families. In addition the Council then incurs unnecessary administration costs dealing with enquiries from service users challenging their bill, and the work then required to amend the bill for the following billing period. Clearly you are aware of the obligations under Schedule 8 of the Home Support Service contract and specifically the timescales detailed therein. Failure to comply with the timescales details in providing accurate information on a timely basis may result in delays in payment to your organisation. If you have any issues with the above please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely Tim Wilde Team Manager Joint Commissioning & Performance Management Team
SCHEDULE 8 PAYMENT PROCESS 1. PAYMENT PROCESS 1.1 The Purchaser shall notify the Provider of any variations in the level of care to be provided by way of an Individual Care Contract Variation. 1.2 The Provider shall inform the HCCT each Monday morning of any services purchased by the Emergency Duty Team for the previous weekend by submitting the approved form. 1.3 The Provider will inform the Purchaser daily of any Individual Care Contract variations e.g. cancellations, missed calls. 1.4 Each week the HCCT will send the Provider information regarding the contracted weekly hours. Please note this information will be one week in arrears. 1.5 The Provider will either confirm this information is correct or notify the HCCT of any amendments. 1.6 The HCCT will then issue a signed summary to the Provider for authorisation. The Provider will countersign this copy as a true and accurate record of the hours delivered and return a fully signed copy to HCCT. 1.7 The Provider will complete all of the above within five days of receipt of the contracted weekly hours delivered as noted in 1.4 above. 1.8 The HCCT will forward the fully signed summary information to the Purchaser s finance section. 1.9 The Provider will issue an invoice for the Price to the Purchaser s finance section in accordance with the agreed summary and the Purchaser shall pay the same within a period of twenty-one days thereafter.