PART 5CHARGING AND FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT
Enforcement of debts
70Recovery of charges, interest etc
1
Any amount due to a local authority under this Part is recoverable by the authority as a debt due to it.
2
But subsection (1) does not apply in a case where a deferred payment agreement could be entered into, in accordance with regulations under section 68, unless—
a
the local authority has sought to enter into such an agreement with the person from whom the amount is due, and
b
that person has refused.
3
An amount recoverable by a local authority under subsection (1) is recoverable summarily as a civil debt (but this does not affect any other method of recovery).
4
An amount is recoverable under this section within six years of the date on which the amount becomes due to the local authority.
5
Where a person mentioned in subsection (6) misrepresents or fails to disclose (whether fraudulently or otherwise) to a local authority any material fact in connection with the provisions of this Part, the following amounts are due to the authority from that person—
a
any expenditure incurred by the authority as a result of the misrepresentation or failure, and
b
any amount recoverable under this section which the authority has not recovered as a result of the misrepresentation or failure.
6
The persons are—
a
an adult—
i
who appears to the local authority to have needs for care and support or (in the case of a carer) support under Part 3, and
ii
who has capacity to understand whether a fact may be material in connection with the provisions of this Part;
b
an adult—
i
to whom something is provided in order to meet another person’s needs for care and support or (in the case of a carer) support under Part 3, and
ii
who has capacity to understand whether a fact may be material in connection with the provisions of this Part;
c
an adult of a description specified in regulations in relation to care and support or (in the case of a carer) support which appears to the local authority to be needed by—
i
a child, or
ii
an adult who does not have capacity to understand whether a fact may be material in connection with the provisions of this Part.
7
The reasonable costs incurred by a local authority in recovering or seeking to recover an amount due to it under this Part are recoverable by the authority as a debt due to it; and subsection (3) applies to the recovery of those costs as if they were amounts to which subsection (1) applies.
8
Regulations may—
a
make provision for determining the date on which an amount becomes due to a local authority for the purposes of this section;
b
specify cases or circumstances in which an amount due to a local authority under this Part is not recoverable by it under this section;
c
specify cases or circumstances in which a local authority may charge interest on an amount (including any costs recoverable by the authority under subsection (7)) due to it under this Part;
d
where interest is chargeable, provide that it—
i
must be charged at a rate that exceeds the rate specified in or determined in accordance with the regulations;
ii
may not be charged at a rate that exceeds the rate specified in or determined in accordance with the regulations.