Response by the Welsh Therapy Advisory Committee

Consultation - Proposed Domiciliary LCO Committee - The National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence)(No.4) Order 2008 relating to charging for Non-Residential Social Care (Domicilary Care)

The Welsh Therapy Advisory Committee (WTAC) is the statutory body that advises the Welsh Assembly Government on issues relating to Therapies.  The professions it represents are Arts Therapies (Art, Music and Drama), Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Orthoptics, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Podiatry.

The Welsh Therapy Advisory Committee supports the general principle that   legislative competence in the area identified in Matter 15.9 be conferred on the Assembly and would make the following observations: -

Since the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales, policies, procedures and practices in local authorities in Wales have begun to develop distinctly from the rest of the UK. We believe it would helpful if the guidance on charges for non-residential services could also be developed locally to reflect the different needs and circumstances in Wales.

The publication of the 10-year strategy for Social Care in Wales provides the vision for services. The strategy is a uniquely Welsh document and we believe it is important that the National Assembly has the relevant powers to enable that vision to become a reality.

The Welsh Therapy Advisory Committee strongly supports the shift towards preventative and community based enabling and rehabilitation services. It is however important that charges for non-residential services do not become a disincentive to service users participation in rehabilitation and reablement programmes.

There is currently a lack of parity between the charging regimes across local authorities in Wales. The Welsh Therapy Advisory Committee also recognises that many Local Authorities raise a significant proportion of their revenue funding from non-residential charges. It is hoped that the National Assembly would be in a position to provide a lead to Local Authorities to reconcile this dilemma if these powers are conferred.

We hope the above information assists the committee in ensuring the wording of the proposed order covers these issues. We would be pleased to give oral evidence if the committee wished, and to provide any further information you may require.

Yours sincerely

Neil Abraham
On behalf of the Welsh Therapy Advisory Committee