Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983

17 Charges for local authority services in England and Wales

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, an authority providing a service to which this section applies may recover such charge (if any) for it as they consider reasonable.

(2) This section applies to services provided under the following enactments—

(a) section 29 of the [1948 c. 29.] National Assistance Act 1948 (welfare arrangements for blind, deaf, dumb and crippled persons etc.);

(b) section 45(1) of the [1968 c. 46.] Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 (welfare of old people);

(c) Schedule 8 to the [1977 c. 49.] National Health Service Act 1977 (care of mothers and young children, prevention of illness and care and after-care and home help and laundry facilities);

(d) section 8 of the [1980 c. 7.] Residential Homes Act 1980 (meals and recreation for old people); and

(e) paragraph 1 of Part II of Schedule 9 to this Act.

(3) If a person—

(a) avails himself of a service to which this section applies, and

(b) satisfies the authority providing the service that his means are insufficient for it to be reasonably practicable for him to pay for the service the amount which he would otherwise be obliged to pay for it,

the authority shall not require him to pay more for it than it appears to them that it is reasonably practicable for him to pay.

(4) Any charge under this section may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be recovered summarily as a civil debt.