Personal budgets and direct payments
Your personal budget allows you to choose the best ways to meet your support needs and achieve your goals.
You can choose to have it paid to you as a direct payment to buy services, or you can choose someone to look after the money for you and spend it on your behalf to buy support that meets the goals in your plan.
After your support plan has been agreed you will be notified of your final personal budget. You can have as much or as little control as you wish to have.
Either you or a person making decisions on your behalf can change how you wish to manage your personal budget at any time.
It is important that you or your decision maker understands all of the possible options, and the pros and cons of each option before you make a decision on how to manage your money.
There are 3 main options, with flexibility within each option, on how you can receive your personal budget.
As a direct payment to you
You or someone you nominate to act on your behalf can receive and manage the personal budget as a direct payment.
As a service bought by the Council
You can ask adult social care or another organisation to directly manage your personal budget for you. They will arrange support on your behalf. If you choose adult social care to do this, the process is the same as current commissioning of services.
Both as a direct payment and a Council bought service
You or someone acting on your behalf may choose to have a combination of the above two options.
This may be a useful option to many people who are apprehensive about managing a direct payment and initially may want to have a small amount of their personal budget as a direct payment, so that they can try it out but have the reassurance of commissioned services at the same time.
What is a direct payment
Every local authority offers those who are eligible, money, instead of arranging services for them.
When local authorities gives someone money in this way, it is known as direct payments.
People get this money to arrange services for themselves to meet their social care needs.
Direct payments give you the opportunity to make more of the decisions, which affect your life and be in control of your own care arrangements.
One of the ways you can use a direct payment is to employ and manage your own staff which means you get the assistance you need when you want it, how you want it and from the person you have chosen to give it.
Unlike other services which are provided for you, direct payments enables and encourages you to be in control of a system you create and manage yourself.
To receive a direct payment you need to be able to consent to a direct payment and be able to manage it with support if necessary and available.
Where someone does not have the mental capacity to consent to a direct payment the local authority can appoint a suitable person to receive the direct payment on behalf of the person that needs the support.
The suitable person can then manage the direct payment to ensure the persons needs are met and the direct payment is being used in the best interests of the person receiving the support.
If you feel a direct payment may be for you, please read the following leaflet and fact sheets.
- Direct payments agreement 2021 [pdf document]
- Direct payment bank form [pdf document]
- Nominated person fact sheet [pdf document]
- Suitable person fact sheet [pdf document]
- Summary of direct payments (easy read guide for Individuals) 2021 [pdf document]
- Direct payment agreement (variation) [pdf document]
Should you go ahead with a direct payment you will be required to sign the direct payment agreement form before it can progress and any payment is made into your bank account.
Direct payments support service
This is a specialist service, which is currently free of charge to those with a direct payment. The support service offers the following service:
- Receive and manage the money using a managed account
- Support to buy support services
- Support to recruit and manage staff
- Complete a payroll
- Keep records and give support to make returns to adult social care
Darlington association on disability direct payments support service [external link]
What is a direct payment
Every local authority offers those who are eligible, money, instead of arranging services for them.
When local authorities gives someone money in this way, it is known as direct payments.
People get this money to arrange services for themselves to meet their social care needs.
Direct payments give you the opportunity to make more of the decisions, which affect your life and be in control of your own care arrangements.
One of the ways you can use a direct payment is to employ and manage your own staff which means you get the assistance you need when you want it, how you want it and from the person you have chosen to give it.
Unlike other services which are provided for you, direct payments enables and encourages you to be in control of a system you create and manage yourself.
To receive a direct payment you need to be able to consent to a direct payment and be able to manage it with support if necessary and available.
Where someone does not have the mental capacity to consent to a direct payment the local authority can appoint a suitable person to receive the direct payment on behalf of the person that needs the support.
The suitable person can then manage the direct payment to ensure the persons needs are met and the direct payment is being used in the best interests of the person receiving the support.