3: Direct payments: what are your rights?

A: I’m thinking about using direct payments, but I’m a bit confused about what my council should and should not be doing.

B: Yes I know it can be confusing! It’s good though you’re asking these questions now. It’s much better to get things clear at the start so that there are no nasty surprises later.

A: So can you tell me what my rights are when I receive direct payments?

B: Well it’s probably best if I start at the beginning! First of all there is Department of Health guidance on how councils should be offering direct payments. This guidance is statutory. This means it must be followed by councils. This guidance sets out what rights individuals and councils have.

A: OK that’s good to know. Do all councils implement direct payments in the same way?

B: Well no, each council are doing some things differently. But there are fundamental rights that all councils should follow. I’ll start with assessments. The assessment for your needs should be no different whether you want services from the council or direct payments. 

A: But what about the Deafblind Guidance. Am I still entitled to a specialist assessment, if I want to use direct payments?

B: Yes, this is important. As a deafblind person, you are certainly entitled to a specialist assessment under the Deafblind Guidance. The assessment process should really look at how you will meet any specialist needs if you decide to use direct payments. A support plan should then be written up.

A: I’m really not sure about whether I want to use direct payments or not. My social worker seems keen for me to have direct payments but I want to know about all the options for meeting my needs.

B: Yes essentially the choice is yours but you should be given enough information to make an informed decision. This means you could receive services from your council to meet all of your needs. Or you could decide to receive a combination of services, regardless of which they should give you a service in the meantime. Remember don’t let your council tell you otherwise! 

A: Some weeks I seem to need more support than other weeks so will direct payments be flexible enough to allow this?

B: Well, direct payments are supposed to let you have this kind of flexibility. This means you should be able to vary when you have your support. For example, some weeks you may need more support than others. 

A: So I can spend direct payments differently each week?

B: Well you may need to check with your council that your plans are OK and I would suggest you do that. Some councils can be too strict about this. If you think your council isn’t being flexible enough, ask them to explain why.

A: So are there deadlines for spending my direct payments?

B: Yes, councils ask people to do ‘returns’ at different times. This is paperwork that tells your council how you have spent the money. You should have spent your direct payments for the year at the end of the financial year. This is the end of March. Councils have the right to ask you to return any unspent direct payments from the previous year.

A: I’ve been told that I can’t use direct payments to pay for support from family members who live in my house. Is this true?

B: Well there’s a lot of confusion about this. The Department of Health say that it is possible to use your family if this is the best way to meet your needs. 

A: The reason I ask is because my brother, who lives with me, supports me and I was wondering use my direct payments can pay him?

B: Well, some councils are more open to this idea than others. Some councils may say it’s just impossible – this isn’t correct. You will probably need to explain why your brother is the best person to meet your needs. For example some deafblind people who use hands-on BSL or visual frame may only know of a few people that can communicate well with them. And these people may be family members. This might mean that they need to use their direct payments to pay for communication support from one of these family members.

A: OK, but what if I’m not happy and direct payments aren’t working for me? Will social services still have me on their books? Can I ask for a service from the council?

B: Oh yes, social services should still be monitoring and reviewing the support you receive and of course that it is meeting your needs. It is your right to decide that you don’t want to receive direct payments anymore. And if you decide this, social services should provide you with a service to meet your needs. But of course you will need to give them ‘reasonable notice’ before you stop direct payments. I think you should ask about what they would consider reasonable before you agree to receive direct payments.