Personal budgets and direct payments

We'll help you to develop a care and support plan if you're eligible for financial help towards the cost of care and support.

The plan will set out how you can access the services you need.

Personal budgets

We'll contribute an amount towards the cost of your care and support. This is called your personal budget.

You may have to contribute towards those costs too. As part of the care and support plan we'll give you an estimate of how much we'll pay and how much you'll need to pay.

A personal budget gives you choice and control over the care and support you need.

Organising your care and support

When organising any care and support funded by us, you have two options:

Ask us to arrange one or more services for you. We'll make all the arrangements directly with providers and pay using your personal budget
Arrange one or more services yourself. We'll pay your personal budget to you in the form of a direct payment, giving you more control over the care you receive

Direct payments

We'll advise you as to what a direct payment can be used for as part of your assessment and care and support plan development.

Our Direct Payment Support Service team provides information and support about:

Understanding personal budgets and arranging your own support
Managing direct payments
Recruiting, employing and managing personal assistants

For more details visit Direct Payment Support Service.

It's possible for a nominated person to take a direct payment on someone else’s behalf. This may include an authorised individual where the person needing care and support lacks capacity.

When considering any request for a direct payment, we'll need to be satisfied that the money will be managed appropriately.

Personal budgets and direct payments