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Prevention of break-up of families
South London Family Service Unit
Family Welfare Association
Various
Blackfriars Settlement Occupational Work Centre
British Red Cross Society
Catholic Nursing Institute
Central Council for Health Education
Invalid Children's Aid Association
National Association for Mental Health
Chest and Heart Association
National Association for Mentally Handicapped Children
FINANCE
Assessments and Charges
Some of the services provided by a local health authority under the National Health
Service Act, 1946, as amended by the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968, must
be free of charge (as are general medical services and hospital treatment) but a health
authority may, with the approval of the Secretary of State for Social Services, make and
recover reasonable charges for services and articles provided under sections 22, 28 and 29
having regard to the means of the persons availing themselves of the services. The Secretary
of State for Social Services in approving the making of charges under these sections, prescribed
in Circular 100/48 that the charge should not exceed the actual cost to the authority
of providing the service and that the charge should be reasonable having regard to the
means of the persons concerned.
Section 12 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 permits local health
authorities to provide, inter alia, residential accommodation for persons suffering from a
mental disorder and to recover from persons availing themselves of the service such charges
as are considered reasonable.
The charges for services and scales of assessment for abating the charge where the
person responsible for payment was unable to meet it in full, were continued. These charges
and scales followed closely the national recommendations of the County Council's Association
and associated bodies.
Charges were made in accordance with five assessment scales:
Scale A—for services which are small in cost or needed at irregular intervals.
Scale B—which is applied for services of a more continuous nature.
Scale C—for ascertaining charges payable in respect of residential care provided for the
mentally disordered (other than short-term care for the mentally subnormal)
Day nursery service-special scale.
Home help service—special scale.
The probable income from all assessed persons was £36,000.
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