Completing a review of finances

Financial reviews must be completed a minimum of every 12 months for individuals where LBC is a Corporate Appointee. These need to be completed by practitioners in Adult Social Care (including C&I Mental Health Trust).

If you are the reviewing officer (practitioner), you should complete a light touch check of financial transactions. To do this you will need to:

• Complete the appointee review form. The review form will be part of the person's annual overview placement review or community support plan
• Contact [email protected] or the allocated PFS finance caseworker for an electronic copy of the annual financial statement for the person prior to the review for checking
• Check the financial statement for any issues or irregularities.
• Destroy the financial statement but note that you have checked it on MOSAIC and the review
• Inform PFS of any concerns or amendments

The PFS caseworkers must provide the reviewing officer with the necessary paperwork in a timely manner and support to explore the issue where any concerns are raised.

Thing to look for when checking financial statements

Are there large sums of expenditure withdrawn from the account, has this been approved?

Are there irregular withdrawals for unidentified funds, can this be accounted for?

Is regular benefit income being paid into the account? E.g. ESA, State Pension, Pension credits and Disability benefits (Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance)

Do the available funds cover necessary payments in relation to the person's living conditions and personal allowance? 

Raising financial concerns

If you are the reviewing officer and have concerns about a person's finances you should raise these with PFS and your manager.

If there are concerns about the conduct of a PFS Caseworker, you should raise this with your Team Leader, who should in turn raise it with Jamie Spencer, Head of ASC Insight, Quality and Financial Services.

For high risk individuals, financial reviews may be required more frequently. This may include those with minimal contact with support services, where there is a Safeguarding Concern, or complex care/financial casework.