You can only get a direct payment for adult social care if you have undergone:
You will need to be eligible for financial support from us to qualify.
The Care Act needs assessment will identify your strengths and areas where you might need some help. It will also look at:
We then calculate how much it would cost to meet your needs – this cost is known as your personal budget. Your personal budget is the most we could give you as a direct payment. The actual amount you could get would depend on your financial assessment.
Your financial assessment may have shown you could afford to pay for some of your care. We will tell you how much this contribution is and how you can pay it.
You would then have choice and control to spend your direct payment in a way that’s right for you and meets your outcomes. It gives you flexibility and independence as it is you making the decisions rather than us. Read about what you can buy with your direct payment.
If you are a carer for a friend or family member then you are eligible for your own Carers Assessment under the Care Act 2014.
If you have Care Act eligible needs as a carer then you may be able to have a direct payment to meet the outcomes in your support plan. Carers support services are not means tested and you won’t have a financial assessment.
You will need to open a new bank account to pay your direct payment into. This is a great way to help you keep your own finances separate from your direct payments and ensures the direct payment does not impact any entitlement to benefits.
We will pay your personal budget into this account every two weeks. This will be in advance of when you need to spend it.
You should use this account to purchase your care and support.
You must maintain clear records of your spending. This is to show it has been used for things outlined in your support plan.
We will ask you to:
If you employ a carer or personal assistant, you must follow employment law. This would include making sure you pay the correct tax - GOV.UK.
Read about Employing staff for the first time - GOV.UK.
There are services that can help you with this and we can give you more information about them if you need it.
When your situation changes you should contact us to let us know if:
We have a support service available that can help you manage your direct payment. This includes help with:
Please ask our Adult Social Care service for more information and they can refer you to our support service Compass.
