Reader’s letter: Assessment system wrong
Having been brought into a major financial crisis by going into an overdraft on my bank account by Nottinghamshire County Council’s System of Financial Assessment for the paying of care services by only assessing one’s income as opposed to normal monthly expenditure has undermined my ability to determine my own personal budget, and which I have done for some 70 previous years without getting into the situation of a substantial overdraft, currently a third of my agreed overdraft.
The only expenditure they consider are rent and council tax.
Clearly they refuse to accept that all people of any and all ages make decisions on how they spend their income, whether it comes from a working income, or as in my case from a combined local government/civil service combined pension and from the state pension.
Being assessed on income is surely not a fair or legal assessment of one’s position in retirement and not taking into account one's normal outgoings for food, water and electricity supplies, as well as telephone services (essential in maintaining contact with family and friends) and television licence.
And, of course, the cost of shopping has increased over the last few years and none of these items is a person's choice — they are essentials to maintaining a reasonable standard of life in old age, surely?
Given the stress and anxiety I have felt as a result of an imposed overdraft, as well as many continuing sleepless nights, because I imagine that once in this situation it is difficult to get out of this vicious cycle.
Unless, of course, the county council can advise me and any others in the situation how it can be achieved.
I look forward to hearing from them on this matter which they engineered. — A. M. Waddington, Sutton-on-Trent.
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