Direct Payments - Frequently Asked Questions
- What are Direct Payments?
- Who can receive Direct Payments?
- How much money will be given to me as a Direct Payment?
- What is the hourly rate for employing personal assistants?
- What about travelling expenses for personal assistants?
- What about start up costs?
- What if my needs change?
- What records do I need to keep?
- What can I spend the money on?
- Under what circumstances would I have to return money to Social Services?
- Are there any restrictions on whom I can employ using Direct Payments?
- What are my main responsibilities as an employer?
- What checks can I make about a person I want to employ as a personal assistant?
- Are Direct Payments taxable and will they affect my benefits?
- Are Direct Payments means tested?
- How does Social Services monitor whether the Direct Payment is being used for the right purposes?
- Can Direct Payments be used for residential care?
- Can Direct Payments be used to buy services from the Council?
- What should I do if I want to receive Direct Payments?
- How can I find out more about Direct Payments?
Direct Payments are cash payments made to individuals who have been assessed as needing help from Social Services. The money is provided so that the individual can arrange services or support for themselves instead of having services provided or arranged by Social Services. The Government recognises that most people prefer to live independently in their own homes and direct payments are a good way to help support them to do so.
The aim of a Direct Payment is to give more flexibility in how services are provided to many individuals who are assessed eligible for social services support. By giving individuals money in lieu of social care services people have greater choice and control over their lives, and are able to make their own decisions about how their care is delivered.
Who can receive Direct Payments?
They can be made to any adult* who is eligible for help from Social Services, young people aged 16-17 with a disability, parents of children with a disability and carers. Adults who are eligible for help from Social Services include people with physical or sensory disability, people with a learning disability, older people and people with mental health needs.
Anyone in the any above groups is entitled to receive Direct Payments, should they choose to do so, provided only that Social Services is satisfied that they are able to use the money to arrange for the care and support that they (or their child) need – either by themselves or with help.
*There are a small number of people (those subject to certain mental health or criminal justice legislative provisions) who are excluded from receiving Direct Payments.
How much money will be given to me as a Direct Payment?
You will be given the amount of money that you will need to arrange the services that you need. To work this out, first an assessment of your care and support needs will be carried out and then a care plan will be worked out with you which represents one way in which your needs could be met. Social Services will then work out how much it would cost for you to arrange the services in your care plan.
Once you are receiving Direct Payments you will free to spend the money in other ways which meet your needs, but this initial care plan is needed to work out how much money you need.
In calculating a Direct Payment, some kinds of care or support, such as employing a personal assistant, have standard rates, while others have to be worked out each time.
What is the hourly rate for employing personal assistants?
There are two hourly rates for employing personal assistants, a standard rate (for help provided between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm Monday to Saturday, excluding Bank Holidays) and a higher rate (for all other times).
The rate paid in the direct payment includes the salary that you pay to your personal assistant and an additional 26.2% to cover employee National Insurance contributions, holiday pay, sick pay, travel, insurance and admin.
The current (April 2007 - March 2008) rates are:
| Amount paid as a Direct Payment (per hour) | Amount that can be paid to personal assistant (per hour) | |
| Standard |
£10.69 |
£8.41 |
| Higher |
£13.91 |
£11.00 |
If you or your child have specialist needs which means that a personal assistant could not be employed at these rates, you should discuss this with your care manager or social worker.
What about travelling expenses for personal assistants?
The hourly rate for Direct Payments includes a small amount (2.5%) to enable you reimburse your personal assistants the cost of travel they need to do in the course of their work (for example transporting you or your disabled child), though not for travel to and from their own home.
You will need to negotiate with your personal assistants what is a reasonable rate to pay them for use of their own car if they need to drive in the course of their work. If you believe that, given your own circumstances, necessary travel expenses are likely to exceed 2.5% of the hourly rate this should be mentioned at the initial care planning meeting, so that this can be taken into account in calculating the amount you will receive monthly as a Direct Payment.
Once you are receiving direct payments, you will need to budget for travel expenses along with all other expenditure: you will have the flexibility to spend more or less on travel than was proposed in the initial care plan, but you will need to adjust expenditure in other areas to ensure that you stay within your budget.
In starting on direct payments you will be given an initial payment to cover such things as the cost of advertising for personal assistants and payment of insurance for the first year. The amount of this payment will depend on your particular circumstances.
If you receive Direct Payments, your care and support needs will be reviewed from time to time in exactly the way as they would if Social Services were directly providing or arranging services for you.
In addition, you can request a review at any time that there is a significant change in your needs. Following a review, the amount you receive each month as a direct payment will be adjusted to reflect any change in your need for care and support.
What records do I need to keep?
You will need to open a separate bank account for your Direct Payments and you will need to keep a separate record of all money that you receive and spend from this account. There are simple forms that you will given for recording the income and expenditure on your Direct Payments account. You will also need to keep all cheque stubs and receipts.
What can I spend the money on?
You can use the money to employ personal assistants and/or to purchase services and items which help to meet your needs as identified in your needs assessment. There must be receipts for all purchases made. You can pay money to individual people (as opposed to organisations) to provide a service for you only if they are either self-employed or are employed by you. Thus, you cannot make 'informal' care arrangements.
When you start on direct payments you will be given a lot of support to help you to be clear about what counts as meeting a social care need and what does not. Social Services wishes to encourage direct payments users to use their money flexibly to meet their needs, and will provide this support initially as it is recognised that users may be reluctant to spend the money on what appears not to be a 'standard' service unless given reassurance that this is okay. However, over time direct payments users become clearer about this and no longer need this close support.
Under what circumstances would I have to return money to Social Services?
If for some reason you do not need and so do not spend all the money you have received in Direct Payments, for example if your needs change or you spend some time in hospital, the amount of money left in your account will increase. Under these circumstances, Social Services will ask for some of it to be returned, though you will always be left with enough to meet your care needs.
Social Services is also entitled to reclaim any money it discovers was not spent on providing services to meet identified social care needs. However, Social Services will never reclaim money under these circumstances if the Direct Payments recipient purchased the service in good faith, believing that it was a legitimate way of meeting their needs. In circumstances such as these, Social Services could state that the money was not to be spent in that way in future, but money already spent would not be reclaimed.
Are there any restrictions on whom I can employ using Direct Payments?
You cannot normally use Direct Payments to employ your husband, wife or partner or other close relatives that lives with you.
However, Social Services can agree that you can employ such a person in exceptional circumstances – namely where they are satisfied that securing the service from such a person is necessary to meet satisfactorily the individual’s need for that service. You would need the explicit agreement of Social Services before employing a close relative who lives with you using direct payments money.
What are my main responsibilities as an employer?
Direct Payment users must provide staff with a written contract setting out the terms and conditions of employment covering such things as duties, payment, hours, holidays, sickness, notice, disciplinary and grievance procedures. The duties can be listed in a job description which is attached to, and forms part of, the contract. Employees must be provided with a payslip giving details of payment of tax and national insurance if applicable.
What checks can I make about a person I want to employ as a personal assistant?
If you ask the Council and the person you want to employ gives their consent, the Council can carry out a Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check on the person. The Council can then tell you if the person is someone who it is suitable to employ. You can see the result of the CRB check itself if the potential employee gives their permission.
The CRB check will also include a check that the person is not on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) or Protection of Children from Abuse (POCA) national databases of people who are not suitable to work with vulnerable adults/children.
The Council strongly advises you to have these checks carried out and not to employ any person who refuses to agree to the checks being made. If you are the parent of a disabled child, the Council will not permit you to employ a person to care for your child using direct payments money unless a CRB check has been carried out or if, following this check, the person has been found unsuitable to work with children.
Are Direct Payments taxable and will they affect my benefits?
No. Direct Payments are provided specifically for the purpose of arranging social care services, which would otherwise be provided or arranged by Social Services. As such they are not treated as income for tax purposes and they do not affect your benefits.
Are Direct Payments means tested?
The Council charges for certain social services which it provides or arranges. If you choose to receive Direct Payments instead of services, you will be charged the same as you would be for equivalent services if provided or arranged by Social Services. The amount of this charge will be taken out of the Direct Payment you receive, so you will need to pay the amount of your charge into the Direct Payments account so that there will be enough there to pay for the services you need.
How does Social Services monitor whether the Direct Payment is being used for the right purpose?
Social Services monitors this in two ways. In the first place, you will be expected to keep records of how the money is being spent and send in your Direct Payments account bank statement and record of expenditure each month, using forms which will be provided. If it is not clear what some payment was for or if it appears not to be for a social care service, this may be queried with you.
Secondly, your care will be reviewed from time to time (at least once a year) in just the same way as it would be if you were receiving a service provided or arranged by Social Services. At review Social Services will check with you that all your needs are being met and that you are receiving the right amount of money as a Direct Payment for you to be able to arrange services to meet your needs.
Can Direct Payments be used for residential care?
Direct Payments cannot be used to purchase permanent residential care. However, they can be used to purchase short-term residential care such as respite care.
Can Direct Payments be used to buy services from the Council?
No. However, you can receive some services you need directly from the Council, or provided by other organisations but arranged by the Council, and receive a Direct Payment for you to arrange other services yourself.
What should I do if I want to receive Direct Payments?
Speak to your care manager or social worker and tell them that you would like to receive Direct Payments. Alternatively you can contact us using the details provided on the right.
How can I find out more about Direct Payments?
You can ask your social worker or you can contact us using the details provided on the right.
Alternatively, you can fill out our Direct Payments Online Enquiry Form.
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