The Social Care Charges (Means Assessment and Determination of Charges) (Wales) Regulations 2011

Failure to respond to an invitation to request a means assessment

10.—(1) Where a service user fails to respond to an invitation in accordance with regulation 8, a local authority may impose the standard charge for the service that has been offered, or which the service user is receiving, and in either case which is the subject of the invitation.

(2) A local authority’s power to impose the standard charge in accordance with paragraph (1) is subject to the maximum reasonable charge prescribed in regulation 5.

(3) Where paragraph (1) applies, the charge imposed upon a service user will be payable from the date that a statement is provided by the local authority in accordance with section 10(4) of the Measure (provision of information about charges).

(4) If a service user responds to an invitation to request a means assessment after a local authority has imposed the standard charge, or where relevant, the maximum reasonable charge—

(a) the local authority must proceed to undertake an assessment of the service user’s means in accordance with section 5(1) of the Measure (duty to carry out a means assessment) and regulation 14 and make a determination in accordance with section 7 of the Measure (determinations as to ability to pay)(1) and regulation 15;

(b) the actions taken by a local authority under sub-paragraph (a) will not affect the liability of the service user to pay any charges that have been incurred from the date the statement referred to in paragraph (3) was provided; and

(c) the statement provided in accordance with section 10(4) of the Measure as a result of the assessment and determination referred to in sub-paragraph (a) (“the second statement”) (“yr ail ddatganiad”) will replace the statement provided in accordance with paragraph (3) and the second statement will take effect from the date that it is provided.

(5) In these Regulations any statement, which a local authority is required to provide in accordance with section 10(4) of the Measure is, “provided” (“ddarparu”) on the date that it is issued by a local authority.

(1)

Section 7 of the Measure makes provision for a local authority to determine whether it is reasonably practicable for a service user to pay the standard (or any) charge for a service offered or provided to that service user by a local authority.