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You'll be given a personal budget to spend if your local council decide you're eligible for help with any social care and support you need. You can request an assessment from the council to establish your needs.

The money in your personal budget can be paid to you, to help you make more decisions about how it's spent. This is known as a direct payment.

What is a personal budget?

Your personal budget is the amount of money your local council will pay towards any social care and support you need.

The amount of money in your personal budget is decided by your local council after getting a needs assessment to work out:

what kind of care and support you need
how much it will cost
how much you're able to afford yourself

Carers and personal budgets

If you're a carer, you may be entitled to receive a personal budget after having a carer's assessment to see what might help make your life easier.

A carer's assessment is free and anyone over 18 can ask for one.

Choosing how to receive your personal budget

You can ask the council to either:

manage your personal budget for you
pay the money to another organisation – such as a care provider
pay the money directly to you or someone you choose – this is known as a direct payment

You can also choose a combination of these options. For example, the council could arrange some of your care but send you the rest of the money. This is often called a mixed package or "mix and match".

If the council manages your money

The money in your personal budget will be spent for you by the council. They will arrange all your care and support based on your agreed care plan.

They still need to check you're happy with the care they're arranging for you.

If your money is paid to another organisation

The organisation you choose, such as your care provider, will speak to the council and arrange the payments.

Sometimes other organisations charge you extra money to arrange payments from the council.

The benefits of direct payments

Direct payments give you more flexibility over how your care and support is arranged and provided.

For example, you could choose to hire care workers or personal assistants who:

are always the same people and available when you need them
speak the same language as you
have experience working with your care needs
are a specific person that has been recommended to you
can help you get to shops or social events

There are many ways you could choose to use the money. It's your choice as long as you're spending your personal budget on things that meet your agreed care plan.

Most councils will ask for evidence of how you've spent your money every 3 months.

When to consider other options

You may decide direct payments are not helpful if:

you're worried about managing money or the people you employ
you spend a lot of time in hospital
you would rather the council arranged your care

If you are not confident about keeping records or managing the people who care for you, your local council should be able to provide support.

You could also consider having someone else manage your direct payments, for example a friend or family member. You'll need to set up a trust for payments that are managed by someone else.

How to apply for direct payments

You should be offered direct payments as an option after your needs assessment.

You can also ask your local council's social services department about direct payments.

Find your local social care services

If you choose direct payments, the council will send you the money in your personal budget by either:

paying it directly into a bank, Post Office, building society or National Savings and Investments account
sending you a pre-paid card

You can then choose how you spend the money on your own care and support, as long as it matches the care plan you've agreed with the council.

Signing a direct payment agreement

The council might ask you to sign a document called a direct payment agreement. This says:

how the council want you to record your spending – for example, keeping receipts
your responsibilities as an employer – if you're paying for a care worker

If you spend direct payments on something that isn't agreed in your care plan, the council could take the money back or end the direct payments.

If you're struggling to manage your money

Ask your local council for advice or call Money Helper on 0800 138 7777.

If you want someone else to receive the direct payment

You could speak to the council and agree for the money to be sent to someone who will spend it for you. For example:

a carer
a friend or family member
someone else who speaks up for you (an advocate)

You may need to write down how they will spend the money and which decisions they can make for you. This is known as a decision-making agreement.

Employing your own carer or personal assistant

If you decide to hire a carer or personal assistant yourself, it's important to know the responsibilities you'll have as an employer.

Although support from the council should be available, you may need to arrange:

background checks or references
tax
National Insurance
pension contributions

You can also read about getting a personal assistant on the Disability Rights UK website.

If you don't want to become an employer

You could choose to hire care workers through an agency instead. This removes the legal obligations of being an employer, but could:

cost you more money
remove some of the benefits – such as having the same person provide your care

How to research a care agency

When choosing an agency, decide what sort of service you're looking for and the tasks you need help with. It's a good idea to contact more than one agency, as they may offer different types of services.

You can find out about local home care agencies by:

speaking to your local council's social services department
contacting the UK Homecare Association

There are also organisations that inspect care agencies to see how well they are doing. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates all health and adult social care in England.

You might see a CQC inspection rating when you search online for care home agencies. Their 4 ratings are:

Outstanding
Good
Requires improvement
Inadequate

You can also find and compare home care agencies on the CQC website.

Telephone helplines

If you would like support to help you manage your personal budget or direct payments, speak to your council or call:

the Disability Rights UK personal budgets helpline on 0330 995 0404
the Age UK advice line on 0800 678 1602 (for older people)

How to complain about personal budgets

It's worth speaking to your council's social services before making an official complaint to see if they can help.

You still have to the right to complain if you:

have been told you're not eligible to receive money towards your care and support
don't agree with the amount of money in your personal budget

You could either:

speak to your social worker about being re-assessed
call your local council social services and request a complaints form

Your council should also have a formal complaints procedure on its website.