Deferred Payment Agreements (DPA) collection 2024-25 guidance

This document gives the specifications for the Deferred Payments Agreement Collection Return for 2024-2025. The collection has taken account of a range of feedback and revisions made so it is important to read this guidance even if you have looked at earlier versions of this guidance before.

The aim of the Deferred Payment Agreements (DPAs) return is to collect information that local authorities have arranged with clients to help with the payment of the costs of their care.

The return is split into five main worksheets or tabs:

• DPA001 - Activity Data
• DPA002 - Finance Data
• DPA003 - New Requests for DPAs
• DPA004 - Nature of DPAs
• DPA005 - Recovery of DPA

In this guidance, each tab has a section which explains the table structure and measures contained within it and, where appropriate, we have included a supporting information section which provide additional guidance.

The DPA return is regularly reviewed and maintained via consultation with local authorities though the DPA Working Group.

All suggested changes to the collection are overseen and approved by the Adult Social Care Data and Outcomes Board (DOB), which is jointly chaired by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS).

The Deferred Payment Agreements collection was introduced in 2015-16 as a voluntary collection in response to the changes in Social Care resulting from the implementation of the Care Act 2014. The collection was made mandatory in 2017-18 and continues to be so in 2024- 2025.

A DPA is a means by which an individual can ‘defer’ or delay accessing the equity in their home to pay for their care. The local authority pays the costs of care on an interim basis and is repaid at a later date - either after the sale of property (or other security) or after the person receiving care has died. Deferring payment can provide peace of mind during a time that can be challenging (or even a crisis point) for the cared-for person and their loved ones as they make the transition into residential care.

Whilst deferred payments have existed for some time, the Care Act 2014 has extended the deferred payments scheme so that it is now universally available throughout England. All local authorities are required to offer DPAs to people who meet certain criteria. The purpose of the scheme is that people should not be forced to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for their care.

Local authorities are also encouraged to offer the scheme more widely to anyone they feel would benefit but does not fully meet the criteria. DPAs with clients who meet the eligibility criteria are referred to as ‘mandatory’ in the return and those with clients who enter a DPA without meeting the criteria are called ‘discretionary’.

Local authorities are also encouraged to offer the scheme more widely to anyone they feel would benefit but does not fully meet the criteria. DPAs with clients who meet the eligibility criteria are referred to as ‘mandatory’ in the return and those with clients who enter a DPA without meeting the criteria are called ‘discretionary’.

Local authorities need to ensure that adequate security is in place for the amount being deferred and be confident of the person’s ability to pay back the amount owed to the authority in the future.

The deferred payments structure can also be used to retrospectively secure debts owed to the local authority. In this case the repayment of existing charges due to the local authority is deferred, the debt is secured against their property, and no further charges are allowed to accrue.

Following the Care Act 2014, the new universal offer was expected to prompt additional demand for DPAs. It is important that we can monitor uptake from both a policy development and financial management perspective. Local authorities will also want to keep close watch on uptake levels to assess whether their projections of demand have proved to be correct, and to better understand the populations interested in taking out DPAs. The Deferred Payment Agreements collection is designed to address these requirements.