Services
Social work - direct payments
Direct Payments can be made to the person who has been assessed as eligible for a service to give them greater choice and control over the care and support they receive.
You may be able to get a Direct Payment if:
- you are a disabled person aged 18 or over and you are eligible for community care services
- you are aged 65 or over and are eligible for community care services due to age or infirmity
- you are a 16 or 17 year old or a disabled parent and you are eligible for children's services
You may be able to manage a Direct Payment on behalf of another person if:
- you are a parent or a person with parental responsibility for a disabled child and the disabled child is eligible for children's services
- you are an attorney or guardian with the relevant powers to receive Direct Payments on behalf of a disabled adult who is unable to give consent to arranging their own services
If you think you are eligible for a Direct Payment, you must first apply by contacting the relevant Social Work or Local Area Co-ordination Team - full contact details are shown in the "Direct Payment Scheme Guidance" available from the Downloadable Documents section at the foot of this page. A member of the team will carry out an assessment of your needs and if you are eligible for service, they will work with you to develop a plan of how you will meet your care needs (this is called a 'Care & Support Plan'). There are some useful booklets and websites about Direct Payments (see the Related Links section at the right of this page).
Your Direct Payment will be based on the amount of support that you need as shown in your Care & Support Plan. We will give you information to help you to decide how best to meet your needs. For example, you may want to pay a care agency or to employ personal assistants yourself, or a mixture of both. You will be given enough money to pay for the services that you have been assessed as needing and are eligible for. You can only use your Direct Payment money to buy care and support to meet your assessed needs as set out in your Care & Support Plan - you are not allowed to use it for anything else.
updated: 09/01/12
