Charges for people using public services, including social care, should be extended to raise some of the extra revenue needed to meet future demand, a new report suggests.
The Social Market Foundation study also says better off parents should pay contributions towards a national school bus scheme to ensure all children have a choice of school.
Parents who could not afford to pay would be given a full subsidy to ensure equal access, the report on co-payments and user charges in UK public services says.
Councils should also consider asking parents to pay higher “voluntary” contributions towards non-core education services, such as school meals, an essay in the report suggests.
But, essay author Professor Stephen Bailey of Glasgow Caledonian University, said low-income parents whose children already received free meals should be protected from higher charges.
He pointed out that school meal services might have to raise charges to meet guidelines on healthy eating in schools.
‘Extend service user charges’ says report
February 23, 2006 in Community Care
More from Community Care
Related articles:
Job of the week
Featured jobs
Employer Zone
Making flexible working work for social workers, their families and the families they support
A safe and supportive environment in which NQSWs can learn and flourish
How one council is working to capture the voice of the child
A job that doesn’t feel like work
‘There’s a real sense of pride in our work to reunite families’
Employer zone – showcasing a selection of the sector’s top recruiters
Comments are closed.