Direct payments

We will pay you the money in your personal budget as a direct payment. The direct payment will be paid less the amount of any contribution you are assessed to pay towards your care. Payments are made every four weeks, in advance. You will receive confirmation of the amount to be paid, the amount of your contribution you need to pay into your direct payment or prepayment card account and the dates when payments will be made from our Client Finance Team, when your direct payment begins.

Your social care worker will refer you to our commissioned provider for direct payment support, for training on how to use and manage your direct payment.

The money we send to you must either be paid into a prepayment card account or into a separate bank account that is only used for your direct payment. You must ensure any contribution you are assessed to pay is also paid into your direct payment account. The amount of the direct payment and your assessed contribution make up the total of your personal budget.

Can I choose to have a direct payment?

Yes, you can choose to take your personal budget as a direct payment providing you meet the above eligibility criteria. You will be provided with training on how to use your direct payment and you can speak to your social care worker for further information about the options available to you.

You can always choose whether to receive direct payments or to receive services arranged by us. You cannot be made to accept a direct payment if you don't want one. If you do use direct payments and later decide not to, you can revert to the local authority providing the services.

Can I buy less care and not pay my assessed contribution?

No, you are financially assessed to determine how much you can afford to pay towards the cost of your support needs. Your personal budget is the total cost of your care services, you first pay the amount you have been assessed to to pay and we top up the difference.

If you decide to buy less support than we have identified that you need, your care needs will be reassessed to determine the correct level of support required. If your financial circumstances change you will also require a new financial assessment.

What happens if there is an underspend on my DP account?

When we pay a personal budget via a Direct Payment (DP), the council first deducts the amount you have been assessed as being able to afford to pay towards your care before the balance is paid into your DP account. You are then required to pay this charge into the DP account. This is written into the DP Agreement and DP Policy.

Where a person has care which has been commissioned by the Council, the care provider will tell us about changes in care provision, and our finance system will calculate any necessary change to the person’s charge. Where this is paid for via a Direct Payment, we expect you to tell us about this, at audit.

When there has been an underspend in the DP account during a 12-month period, the council will request the return of surplus funds held over the maximum amount allowed within the account (8 weeks).

If the DP is jointly funded with Health, the % surplus is calculated based on the % value of the Council’s share of your care needs. That surplus will likely have accrued due to a variance in care needs/care provision and is very rarely because a person did not have any care during a week.

If I am expected to contribute towards the cost of my care services and I’m receiving a direct payment, will I get a bill?

If you are in receipt of a direct payment and do not receive any other care services from us, you would not be sent a bill for your charge towards your care. You will pay your care provider directly from your direct payment account. You are expected to pay your assessed charge directly into your direct payment account which will be monitored through regular audit reviews.

We will notify you if we spot that you have not paid your assessed contribution into the direct payment account and advise you how much you need to pay to bring your contributions up to date. Should you continue to not pay your contribution we will issue you with an invoice for the amount due and if this not paid by the due date or a repayment arrangement is not reached, recovery procedures will commence in line with our standard recovery process.

Non-payment of care charges

We have a debt recovery policy which is implemented if you do not pay your assessed contribution. Non-payment of your contribution could, in some cases result in court action.

If you cannot pay your charge because there has been a change to your circumstances, please let us know as soon as possible and we will arrange to carry out a further financial assessment.