Council refunding £2.3m in overcharged care fees

Council leader Daniel Cowan said he was confident the error would not happen again

A council has said it will pay about £2.3m in refunds after overcharging people for the cost of care.

Southend-on-Sea City Council said there was a technical error when new software was set up in 2018.

A total of 586 people had been contacted already, including 335 people who still received this care, a spokesperson said.

"I sincerely apologise for this error," said Labour council leader Daniel Cowan.

"I am pleased to report that council officers have moved quickly to assess its impact, and we are putting things right."

The council said it discovered that disability premium, enhanced disability premium and the carer premium were not factored in when new software was set up in 2018 to calculate a person's minimum income guarantee.

The Care Act 2014 dictates that local authorities can charge for care, so long as these fees do not reduce an individual's income below this guarantee.

This meant some people who received Personal Independence Payments or Disability Living Allowance, and some people receiving Employment and Support Allowance instead of Income Support, were overcharged.

People paid too much for care in their homes; while living with family members; supported living; shared lives; extra care and day care, the council said.

Marc McCowens from Southend Mencap is concerned some people might have their benefits cut as a result of the payments

Southend Mencap, which supports people with learning disabilities, confirmed some of their clients had received letters from the council.

General manager Marc McCowens was concerned that any refunds paid by the council may jeopardise other benefits they received.

He said the vulnerability of some of his clients meant that "they're not aware of what's happened until correspondence comes through".

A council spokesperson said people who had overpaid and who were not in arrears would be offered a refund or given the option of using the overpayment to cover future fees.

"We are confident that we now have the systems and processes in place to stop this happening again," said Cowan.