How should I set the food and utility contributions in Shared Lives arrangements?

Setting up contributions

In a live-in Shared Lives arrangement, the supported person pays their Shared Lives carer a contribution towards food and utilities. This covers the cost of meals provided and their share of household utilities while living in the carer’s home.

Shared Lives Plus best practice is that:

1. The Shared Lives scheme provides a recommended contribution, based on a reasonable estimate of the average cost of food and utilities per person, to form the basis of the agreement.

2. The contribution should then be agreed between the Shared Lives carer and supported person and recorded in the licence agreement.

3. The scheme should ensure that a signed licence agreement is in place before the arrangement begins, and that the contribution is fair, reasonable and clearly understood by all parties.

Safeguarding and adult protection

When a supported person makes any type of financial contribution to their Shared Lives carer, schemes should consider the power imbalance between the two parties and the potential risk of financial abuse.

Schemes should also ensure that any relevant issues relating to:

• mental capacity or incapacity,
• representation,
• advocacy,
• undue influence and
• safeguarding/adult protection

have been appropriately considered before the agreement is signed.

Ensuring fairness

The contribution set out on the license agreement must strike a balance between ensuring that:

1. The Shared Lives carer is not subsidising the supported person’s household costs and is fairly reimbursed for food, fuel and other reasonable expenses. And
2. The supported person pays a fair and proportionate amount, particularly where their income is limited to benefits or they may be less able to assess whether they are receiving value for money.

This is particularly important when setting contributions towards energy costs. Charging more than the permitted amount when reselling energy is prohibited under Ofgem regulations.

Our best practice framework on money includes more information about the financial aspects of Shared Lives arrangements.

Benchmarks and reasonable estimates

It can be difficult to find reliable and comprehensive benchmarks for the average cost of food and household utilities. Schemes should therefore use the best available information when recommending a contribution, accounting for the actual or estimated costs of the household.

This might include looking at typical household food and energy costs, the number of people living in the household, and the supported person’s likely share of those costs. The contribution should be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains fair and reflects significant changes in household costs.

There are several sources of information that can help schemes develop a reasonable starting point. For example:

• The government’s Living Costs and Food Survey creates the Family Food FYE report, which provides information on average food expenditure per person, per week.
• ClearScore publishes data on average food per person and energy costs per household.

These figures should be used as a starting point rather than a fixed rate. The contribution should reflect the circumstances of the particular household where there is a clear reason why the supported person’s food or utilities use is likely to differ significantly from the average.

For example, schemes could consider:

• How many meals the supported person is expected to eat at home. For example, do they regularly eat lunch elsewhere?
• Whether the person’s support needs are likely to result in significantly higher food or energy use.
• Whether the cost of heating the home is significantly higher than average.
• Whether there are other shared household costs that the supported person is expected to contribute towards, such as internet or television.

Any adjustment should be reasonable, proportionate and based on the likely cost. A bespoke calculation is not necessary for every arrangement where an average contribution provides a reasonable basis.

If you have any questions regarding this infobank, please email membership@sharedlivesplus.org.uk