Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

8.2 Where a local authority arranges care and support to meet a person's needs, it may charge the adult, except where the local authority is required to arrange care and support free of charge. The new framework is intended to make charging fairer and more clearly understood by everyone. The overarching principle is that people should only be required to pay what they can afford. People will be entitled to financial support based on a means-test and some will be entitled to free care. The framework is therefore based on the following principles that local authorities should take into account when making decisions on charging. The principles are that the approach to charging for care and support needs should: - ensure that people are not charged more than it is reasonably practicable for them to pay - be comprehensive, to reduce variation in the way people are assessed and charged - be clear and transparent, so people know what they will be charged - promote wellbeing, social inclusion, and support the vision of personalisation, independence, choice and control - support carers to look after their own health and wellbeing and to care effectively and safely - be person-focused, reflecting the variety of care and caring journeys and the variety of options available to meet their needs - apply the charging rules equally so those with similar needs or services are treated the same and minimise anomalies between different care settings - encourage and enable those who wish to stay in or take up employment, education or training or plan for the future costs of meeting their needs to do so - be sustainable for local authorities in the long-term