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If we cover part or all of your care expenses, we might offer to give you the money directly instead of paying the service provider. This gives you more freedom to manage your care.

Direct Payments are intended to give you flexibility around the kind of support you wish to purchase.

You can be as creative as you wish to meet the outcomes set out in your Care and Support Plan. Direct Payments will give you the ability to plan the kind of support you want. 

How can I apply for a Direct Payment?

You will need an assessment to see what care you need and what you can afford. If we have agreed to cover some or all of your care costs and you have already gone through these assessments, just ask us about getting the money directly. 

How will I get the money?

If we have agreed to a Direct Payment, we will pay it onto a pre-paid debit card, or you can set up a bank account specifically for this payment (and nothing else). We will pay you every four weeks.

What can I use my Direct Payment for?

A series of conditions limit how Direct Payments can be used. These include:

• the support you buy must be used to meet the outcomes of your Care and Support Plan
• the Direct Payment is only for the care and support needed to undertake an activity and the activity itself
• you can buy support from a person, from a registered agency or an activity that you wish to take part in
• the option should be good value and affordable within the budget allocated to you
• the option you choose should not make things worse for you or put you at unacceptable risk
• you can use your Direct Payment to pay for respite if this is one of your outcomes, but not permanent residential care
• your Direct Payment is not intended to pay for items which can be prescribed or provided for free – such as items of equipment that the NHS could provide 
• the Direct Payment cannot be used to pay or subsistence costs such as food, alcohol, tobacco and fuel
• Direct Payments cannot be used for day-to-day bills such as rent or mortgage payments
• you can pay someone to help with things like washing, dressing, shopping and cooking
• you can pay a friend to take you out somewhere like a gallery, a football match, or the theatre
• you can give your usual carer a break by paying for some extra support
• you might have what is called a ‘mixed package’ of care, where you pay for some of it directly and the rest is taken care of by the council

You are welcome to use an agency or pay an individual. But you cannot hire anyone who doesn’t have the legal right to work in this country and you cannot hire anyone who usually lives with you (except in very exceptional circumstances).

Remember that if you hire an individual, you might have extra responsibilities as an employer (like paying National Insurance). If you use an agency, they will generally take care of that. 

Examples of how a Direct Payment has been used in Bexley

There are many ways that a Direct Payment can be used to meet your outcomes and to help you live the life you want to live. 

Advice and guidance are available to support you to make choices around the use of your Direct Payment. 

Individual Service Fund

If you qualify for financial help, an Individual Service Fund (ISF) is one way you can receive your personal budget.

In this option, we give your budget directly to a provider. We will provide you with a list of providers to choose from. 

You then work with the provider to arrange your care and support at home.

An ISF can be used as a Direct Payment.

You can get more of an idea of how an Individual Service Fund could work for you by speaking to your social care worker if you have one. If not, please call 020 3045 5159.