2. What are direct payments?

A: I’ve heard about direct payments? What are they?

B: Direct payments are one way for you to get the social care support you need instead of you council providing a service for you. You can decide to take an amount of money that you should spend on meeting your needs.

A: What would be good about that?

B: Well it may mean that you can have more choice and control about the kind of support you receive and when you receive it. 

A: So can anyone receive direct payments?

B: Direct payments are for people with disabilities, older people, parents of disabled children and carers. You have to go through the same assessment process to receive a service from your council or through direct payments. 

A: What about all those other council assessments – do I have to go through them too?

B: Yes you have to meet the same eligibility criteria. Eligibility criteria are set by councils to decide whether they will provide and fund support for you.  You will also need to be assessed for any charges you will need to make towards the cost of support.
 
A: What can I use my direct payments for?

B: You must spend your direct payments on meeting your needs as laid out in your care plan. So depending on what your needs or outcomes are, you could spend your direct payments on human support, such as a communicator guide or interpreter, activities, equipment or minor adaptations. Remember you can take direct payments to meet all of your needs or you can combine some direct payments with some council services to meet your needs.

A: So I can spend the money on anything I want as long as it meets my needs?

B: Well, you will need to check with your social worker or care manager that your plans for how to spend the money are OK. You will also need to provide evidence, such as receipts or invoices, of how you’ve spent your direct payments,

A: That sounds like there’s paperwork involved? I’m not sure I want to take that on.

B: Well you should be able to delegate some or all of the responsibilities involved in managing direct payments. But it’s also important for you to still be making decisions about how your direct payments are spent. 

A: What if I want to employ people using direct payments? Does that involve a lot of paperwork as well?

B: Yes, if you employ people, that means you become an employer and you will need to fulfil your responsibilities. Again, you can get support to do this. In your local area there should be a local direct payments support service that can help you. The National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL) they have a list of local support services too.

A: I would like to find out more about direct payments. Where can I go for more information? 

B: Yes you should ask your social worker or local council for information on direct payments. Sense also has some factsheets about using direct payments. Remember that when you’re thinking about direct payments, you should think about it as just one of the different ways for you to meet your needs; the choice is yours to make.