Direct payments

What is a direct payment?

A direct payment is a way of managing your personal budget. They are a cash payments provided to individuals who have been assessed by Adult Social Care, as needing care and support services under the Care Act 2014.

A personal budget is an agreed amount of money that is allocated to you to meet you care and support needs. You can chose to have a direct payment, which can give you greater control of how your care and support needs are going to be met. Your Care Act assessment will identify your personal budget. Your personal budget will be paid to you through a separate nominated bank or Fairshare account.

Direct payments can be used in a wide range of innovative and creative ways as long as they are safe, legal and meet your assessed care and support needs.

You can decide how you spend your direct payment in a way that works for you. For example, you can use your direct payment for:

a personal assistant
community activities
a carer
short breaks/respite.

Benefits of a direct payment

You can have greater control over who provides your care and how it is delivered.
You can arrange and manage your own care.
You can choose the individual(s) who you wish to care for you. There are exceptions to this - your allocated worker or Direct Payment Officer can explain this to you further.
By arranging your own care, you can make sure that all your care needs are met in the way that you want.
Your support plan can be as flexible as you need it to be. For example, you can choose to change when to have your support, such as in the evenings or at weekends.

What you will need to do if you would like a direct payment

Your allocated worker will help you design your support plan based on your needs identified following your Care Act Assessment or Review. Once you have completed your support plan, you and your allocated worker will discuss how your needs will be met and how you will spend your Direct Payment. There are a number of different support options available to you.

Your allocated worker or Direct Payment Officer will support you with the initial set up of your Direct Payment. They will complete a Direct Payment Agreement with you. This is an agreement between you and the council identifying your responsibilities towards your Direct Payment and how the council will also support you.

There are also a number of payroll services available to use to support with paying for any Personal Assistants and/or carers that you may employee for your support needs. Your allocated worker or Direct Payment Officer will be able to advise you of these and make referrals to them on your behalf. The payroll services will ensure you meet your employer responsibilities, which include paying your Personal Assistant, tax, National Insurance Contributions, holiday and sick pay.

Your allocated worker and Direct Payment Officer will work with you to ensure you have all the information you need to support you with your Direct Payment.

Whats happens once your direct payment is set up

Once you have agreed to have a Direct Payment your allocated worker, and Direct Payment Officer will support you to set it up:

You will enter into a formal agreement with the Council to take on the responsibility for managing your Direct Payment and using it appropriately, this is your Direct Payment Agreement.
You will be responsible for contracts and payments when you buy your care and support.
You will need to set up a separate bank account or Fairshare account for the Council to use to pay your Direct Payment into.
You will need to understand any responsibilities you have towards your employee’s, you can find out more information on the Live Well Telford website.
You will need to provide information on how you spend your Direct Payment, for example keeping timesheets for your Personal Assistant(s) or Carer(s), receipts of community activities purchased.

What happens if my needs change?

As part of Adult Social Care’s commitment to you we will ensure that you have an annual review of your care and support needs. We will arrange to speak to you and the people important to you about your current circumstances. We will review how your care needs impact on your life and how your Direct Payment is supporting you to meet these needs.

We will listen to any changes that you feel you are experiencing and how these impact on the care you receive. As part of our review we will provide any information and advice you may need and we will work with you to continue to promote your independence safely.

If your circumstances change before your annual review you need to ensure you contact Adult Social Care as soon as possible. Your care and support should not be changed without informing Adult Social Care.

Any changes made without our support could leave you liable for costs. Your allocated worker can discuss this further with you.

Will you help me monitor my direct payments?

Your Care Act Assessment and support plan will have documented your needs and how these will be met using your Direct Payment. You will also have signed a Direct Payment Agreement before your Direct Payment started. This agreement will advise you on when payments will be made into your Direct Payment account, how you will spend your Direct Payment, and the general rules on how to use the Direct Payment.

The agreement also advises you what records you need to keep, what to do if your needs change and what to do if you wish to end the agreement.

As well as your annual Care Act Review you will also be asked to submit financial monitoring as part of your Direct Payment – you will be contacted for this information by the Direct Payment Officer’s. Further details of this will be available in your Direct Payment Agreement.

Will I have to contribute financially?

As part of Care Act assessment and support plan you will be supported through a financial assessment. This assessment will determine whether you pay a contribution to your care provided by Adult Social Care. This is a means tested assessment, this means your level of income will depend if you pay a client contribution towards your care and support.

We will carry out a Financial Assessment before your personal budget is worked out to let you know the maximum you will have to pay. Your allocated worker can provide you with further information and details regarding this or you can view more information on our paying for care page.

Useful links

Visit the Employing personal assistants toolkit website for skills for care toolkit to help you.
Visit the skills for care website for more on the Individual employer funding - skills for care apply for funding to train you and your staff.

Last updated: 24/05/2022 08:48