0003230
G.F. 323
G.F.3
CONFIDENTIAL
8
b)
only case for charging for a universal service would be if it were considerel necessary to mak、 the service appreciated, to prevent it being misused: nominal charges for attending day entres, in the same way as nominal charges are imposed for hospital beds, would be an example.
It would be exceptional to thirk in terms of charging the full cost of a service - There is no reason why a proportion of social welfare services should not be provided privately by non Government financed organizations, whose fees might reflect actual costs. But it would be an entirely different matter to think in terms of making Government services self-financing by relating fees to actual costs. To do so would defeat the Government's overall aim which is to provide the services that are needed without rationing them by price. The more the need and cost, for example the provision of care for a severely handicapped child, the stronger the case for the community as a whole to bear at least part of the responsibility, in just the same way as the community accepts responsibility for educational and health services.
c) The objections to a policy
Level of fees
26.
rang social welfare
self-financing do not app'; hi lever. to charging a modest level fees whion vwld both recover a proportion
In
the cort and appropriate cases, serve 40 2 horas "osting tho demand for services. social welfare, Like other social services, establishing need by refer cnce to demand is an open ended criterion of needs espesially if the service is ree or subsidized. Public expectations, which develop into an increased demand for services, tend to grow much faster than anticipated. A modest level of charges could help to establish a realistic level of demard, provided there was adequate provision through social security, exceptionally, remission etrangements) to ensure that the fees did not discourage people who really needed the services from making use of them. Whatever level of charges were decided upon, it should not take social welfare services beyond the pockets of those who need them most.
The level of fees may be determined, broadly, by reference to the cost of the service or by reference to the beneficiary of the service. If the fee is determined by reference to the beneficiary, there could be a scale of charges based on income or reimbursement of all or part of the charges subject to a means test. However, relating the level of fees to individual circumstancso means in practice duplicating the operation of the social security system, which is expensive
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