The Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014

Administration costs

10.—(1) The local authority may charge the adult its administration costs in accordance with paragraph (3) or (4) provided that it informs the adult that it proposes to do so, before entering into the agreement, and complies with sub–paragraphs (a) to (c) of paragraph (5).

(2) The administration costs may be treated in the same way as the adult’s deferred amount, unless the adult requests to pay them separately.

(3) In this paragraph the administration costs are the total of any costs incurred by the authority in relation to the adult’s deferred payment agreement including but not limited to—

(a) the costs of postage, printing and photocopying;

(b) the costs of time spent by persons in relation to the agreement;

(c) the costs of overheads, such as computer equipment and utility charges (to the extent that they are not already included in the costs of time spent by persons in relation to the agreement);

(d) the costs incurred for the purpose of ascertaining the value of the adequate security;

(e) the costs incurred in registering the charge on the land or land charges register;

(f) the costs incurred in perfecting the security obtained in respect of the deferred amount;

(g) the costs incurred in discharging or redeeming the security obtained in respect of the deferred amount; and

(h) the costs which are incurred by the authority for the purpose of ensuring compliance by the parties of the terms and conditions in the agreement.

(4) In this paragraph the administration costs are—

(a) the average cost to the local authority incurred in relation to deferred payment agreements generally, having regard to the costs and fees referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) of paragraph (3), and for these purposes the local authority may provide for different average costs for different situations;

(b) the costs incurred for the purpose of ascertaining the value of the adequate security;

(c) the costs incurred in registering the charge on the land or land charges register;

(d) the costs incurred in perfecting the security obtained in respect of the deferred amount;

(e) the costs incurred in discharging or redeeming the security obtained in respect of the deferred amount; and

(f) the costs which are incurred by the authority for the purpose of ensuring compliance by the parties of its terms and conditions.

(5) But the local authority must—

(a) before entering into the agreement, give the adult an estimate of the amount of any charge it envisages levying in respect of making the agreement and registering any charge;

(b) before entering into the agreement give the adult an indication of its current charges for, and the matters in respect of which, it considers it may impose a charge under the agreement and information to enable the adult to ascertain the charges if they change during the period during which the agreement is in force;

(c) before requesting payment of any charge, or treating it in the same way as the deferred amount, provide the adult with a statement which sets out the amount of the charge—

(i) which, in a case where the administration costs are calculated in accordance with paragraph (3), is attributable to each of the items referred to in paragraph (3); or

(ii) which, in a case where the costs are calculated in accordance with paragraph 4, is attributable to the costs referred to in paragraph (4)(a) and each of the items referred to in sub-paragraphs (b) to (f) of that paragraph.