Your Life
Your Choice
care and support designed with you
A guide to
Direct Payments
This is a guide for people who are thinking
about using or who are about to start
using Direct Payments from Durham
County Council. It will also be useful for
the families or carers of people who are
considering Direct Payments.
Direct Payments is money you can receive
from the Council to buy care and support
services, rather than having social care
staff arrange them. This puts you in
charge of your own care or support
arrangements, giving independence and
flexibility over who provides your care and
how and when it is delivered. The services
purchased with Direct Payments must
be safe, legal and meet your care needs.
Social care staff will provide help and
support as you decide whether Direct
Payments are for you.
Contents
Who can receive Direct Payments? ............................................ 2
How do I access social care services? ...................................... 3
How will I manage the money I receive? .............................. 5
How can I spend my Direct Payments? .................................... 7
Employing someone to help you .................................................................... 7
Using an agency, organisation or buying a product ........................ 11
How will I find out what services
and products are available? .................................................................. 12
Will I get any ongoing support?
...................................................... 12
1
Who can receive Direct Payments?
Most people who are eligible for social care services are also
eligible for Direct Payments including:
Older people and disabled people over the age of 16
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People with physical and/or sensory disabilities
People with learning disabilities
People with mental health issues
People who do not have the mental capacity to consent to
Direct Payments can have an appointed person to manage
Direct Payments on their behalf
A person with parental responsibility for a disabled child
aged under 16
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Parents and people with legal parental responsibility and
who are not necessarily the child’s parents
Carers over the age of 16
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Carers who have been assessed as needing services to support
them in their caring roles and to maintain their own health
and wellbeing
Having the money to pay for your own care and support means
that it can be arranged so it is flexible and individual to your
needs. You must be willing and able to manage the Direct
Payments with support if required. Those who lack capacity to
consent to Direct Payments will need to have a suitable appointed
person agreed by the Council to receive the Direct Payments on
their behalf.
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Are there any restrictions?
Direct Payments can not be used to:
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Buy health services
Buy long term residential care or very frequent ‘short break’
care in a residential facility
Pay household bills or other personal expenses
Employ anyone living in your household who is closely related
The money is not income or a benefit and therefore it will not affect
any benefits you may already receive.
How do I access social care services?
Before you can start receiving any social care and support from the
Council, including Direct Payments, you will need to complete an
assessment of your needs to find out if you are eligible.
Following your assessment, a care plan will be written. This is a
summary of the outcomes you agree with your social worker or
care co-ordinator. It will detail the kind of support that you will
engage, or activity you will undertake, to achieve your outcomes.
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If you and your social worker or care co-ordinator decide Direct
Payments are the best option for you, your social worker or care
co-ordinator will make a referral to the Direct Payments Team. You
will need to discuss how much flexibility you have in how you use
your Direct Payments. You must be willing and able to manage
Direct Payments with support if required. In certain circumstances
your social worker or care co-ordinator can assist you to identify a
suitable appointed person who has been agreed by the Council to
receive the Direct Payments on your behalf.
The Direct Payments Team will contact you to give you more
information and help to answer any questions you may have and
offer support to help you set up and manage your Direct Payments.
You will be given a Direct Payments agreement which sets out the
terms and conditions of receiving Direct Payments and also what
the Council requires from you. We will explain what this means and
you or your suitable appointed person must sign this agreement
before you can begin to receive your Direct Payments.
What if I change my mind?
If you accept Direct Payments you can change your mind at any
time and go back to having services arranged by the Council.
Please speak to your social worker or care co-ordinator if you
decide Direct Payments are not for you. You will be required to pay
back any money you haven’t used.
Contributing towards the cost of your care and support
For people over 18 years you may be asked to make a contribution
towards the cost of your care and support depending on your
financial circumstances. You will usually be asked to undertake a
financial assessment. This will be completed by someone from the
Council’s Financial Assessment Team in your home and at a time
convenient for yourself. You will be advised on arrangements for
payments.
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How will I manage the money I receive?
Most people need to set up a separate bank account for Direct
Payments, although there are exceptions, for example if you are
only going to receive a one off payment. It is useful to have a
separate Direct Payments bank account that has a cheque book
and debit card available. Your Direct Payments bank account must
not have any other money going in or being paid out.
There are many ways of finding the best bank account available:
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You could ask your current bank to set up a new account for you
You could look at the most appropriate account for you by
researching the finance section of the national newspapers,
then by visiting the appropriate branch
Talk to family and friends for their recommendations
If you are unable to manage your own Direct Payments bank
account you can have a managed bank account. This means that
the Council gives the whole Direct Payments amount to your
chosen organisation. This organisation will open a bank account on
your behalf and will spend your Direct Payments on what has been
agreed. You will still have to employ staff or choose which agency
provides your care and support but you wouldn’t deal with the
money to pay for these.
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Things to know about your Direct Payments:
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The money will be paid into the bank account every four
weeks and you will receive a payment slip from the Council
to tell you how much this payment will be
You must keep a record of how you have used the money.
If you paid for items such as stamps and envelopes from
your account, you need to keep the receipts
You will need to provide bank statements. The Council reserves
the right to audit that Direct Payments are being spent
properly in the way that was agreed when they were set up.
This means that we will check the money which was put in
against the money that was spent from the account. You will
be asked to repay any money that was incorrectly used
One off payments
Your social worker or care co-ordinator may agree for an amount
of money to be paid to you as a one off payment to meet your
agreed social care needs. The Direct Payments team will be on
hand to guide and support you through this process.
Please note: You can only purchase goods and services that
are safe, legal and meet your needs and agreed outcomes as
shown in your care and support plan. Please speak to your
social worker or care co-ordinator if you are unsure what you
can spend your Direct Payments on.
Next of kin
We require contact details of your next of kin and details of
who will be dealing with your estate in the event of your death.
In the event of your death, if there is any Direct Payments money
left in your bank account there is a legal obligation for it to be
returned to Durham County Council after all staff payments,
the income tax and national insurance and invoices are paid.
Bank statements will also be required to conduct a final audit.
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How can I spend my Direct Payments
The following pages describe ways that you can choose to spend
your Direct Payments money to help meet your care and support
needs.
Employing someone to help you
If you choose to use your Direct Payments to employ a Personal
Assistant you will be responsible for the recruitment and
employment process.
It is very important that you take some time recruiting your
Personal Assistant so that you can be sure that you have
employed the best person to meet your needs. We can help you
with this but you will be the employer.
If you wish to advertise to recruit a Personal Assistant you can
include information that is appropriate on your advert depending
on what is important to you. We can provide help to you as
required.
When recruiting new staff for children receiving Direct Payments
you must make sure that you get at least two references for each
person you employ. For adults receiving Direct Payments it is
strongly recommended that you get two references for each
person. Please discuss this with your Direct Payments support
worker who can assist you with this or can do it on your behalf.
You should also check if there are gaps in the person’s
employment history and make sure they are explained to your
satisfaction.
Please note: You cannot employ someone under the age of
sixteen to undertake a paid caring role.
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Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
For people who receive Direct Payments for a child an enhanced
CRB check must have taken place on any staff you employ as no
employment can begin until the CRB is in place. If you are an adult
receiving Direct Payments we highly recommend that you have a
CRB check on all employees. All CRB’s must be carried out by Durham
County Council and the Direct Payments team will process this on
your behalf.
These checks are necessary to protect you and you are strongly
advised to carry them out. A potential employee may, for instance,
have committed previous offences against other vulnerable adults,
or been sacked from a care agency for poor care practice. Some carers
that have been barred from one section of the care industry may try
to move to work in other areas and so CRB checks are vital.
If there are children in your home, you must have an enhanced CRB
disclosure carried out on any Personal Assistant that you wish to
employ, even if this is family. This means that you can check if your
employee has any criminal cautions or convictions. We will provide
forms and help you to do this.
For adults receiving Direct Payments if your prospective employee
refuses to have a CRB check then the Direct Payments Team will notify
your social worker or care co-ordinator who will do a risk assessment
to make sure that you understand and are willing to accept the risks.
If your employee starts before a CRB is approved your social worker
or care co-ordinator will also need to do a risk assessment to ensure
that you are safeguarded.
Before you employ a Personal Assistant, employ additional Personal
Assistants or change your employee you must inform the Direct
Payments Team who will let your social worker or care co-ordinator
know as they may need to do a risk assessment to ensure that you
are safeguarded.
Please note: CRB checks should be renewed every three years
and the costs of the CRB must be met from your Direct Payments.
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Managing your Personal Assistant’s employment
Where you employ a Personal Assistant you will be responsible
for managing their employment. This will include recording your
Personal Assistant’s hours worked on a timesheet, paying tax
and national insurance and making sure your Personal Assistant
works safely. You will also be responsible for arranging any
training, agreeing holidays and appropriate cover arrangements
and making any changes to the employment contract.
Your Direct Payments Support Worker will be able to provide you
with advice and support to employ your Personal Assistant.
Paying your Personal Assistant
It is very important to think about the costs of being an employer
when you decide the hourly rate. As an employer you must pay at
least the national minimum wage.
The amount that you pay should take account of all of your
expenses. This includes things like tax and national insurance,
employer’s liability insurance (see page 10), payroll costs, staff
training, holiday cover and administration or photocopying and
stamps.
If you choose to pay your Personal Assistant more than the
amount of your Direct Payments you will need to fund any
shortfalls in your Direct Payments bank account.
It is advisable to join a payroll scheme to ensure that your
Personal Assistant’s tax and national insurance contributions are
deducted correctly. The payroll scheme also tells you how much
employer’s national insurance to pay.
The payroll scheme will sort out your paperwork and deal with the
tax office (HMRC) for you. The Simplified Deduction Scheme (SDS)
and the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Scheme are the most common.
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Contract for employment
Your Personal Assistant must have a contract of employment,
which sets out their hours of work, terms and conditions of work
and their rates of pay. The Direct Payments Team can provide a
template of a contract to help you. You will need to keep a copy
of this and give a copy to your employee.
Employers liability insurance
Where you employ your own staff you must have employers
liability insurance. Most employers liability insurance covers
you for employee liability, public liability, redundancy insurance,
personal accident cover, theft cover and provides a 24 hour helpline.
All information that you require will be contained within your
insurance policy including the telephone helpline number and you
must keep this along with your policy number in a safe place.
You must remember that it is your responsibility to renew your
insurance on a yearly basis direct with the insurers and pay this
from your Direct Payments.
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Using an agency, organisation or buying a product
You may choose to use your Direct Payments to purchase a service
or product to help you meet your assessed care and support needs.
These can be paid for on an ongoing basis or through a one off
payment. You will need to ensure that what you purchase is safe,
legal and that you have receipts for the money spent. Your social
worker or a member of the Direct Payments team can provide
advice and support to you.
If you decide to use your Direct Payments to buy services from an
agency or organisation it’s important to remember that you are
entering into a contract with that organisation, as you are paying
for their services.
You will need to be clear with them about the terms and conditions
under which you are buying the service including things like; the
type of service, how much you are paying them, how payments are
to be made, what cover arrangements are in place and notice
periods for ending the contract.
In entering into the contract with the agency or organisation you
will need to take into account what has been agreed with your
social worker or care co-ordinator and written in your care and
support plan as to how you will spend your Direct Payments. If you
choose to purchase additional hours or services which have not
been agreed you will be responsible for paying for these.
Your chosen organisation will send you an invoice for services
that you have received and you should pay this from your Direct
Payments bank account.
For some services you buy, you may need to do additional checks
particularly where children are involved. Your Direct Payments
support worker will be able to advise you on what contracts and
checks that you need to have in place.
Important: You must make sure that you do not pay an
invoice from an agency or organisation before the Council
has put your Direct Payments into your bank account.
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How will I find out what services and products
are available?
You may already have some ideas of how you wish to use your
Direct Payments to meet your needs and you may have discussed
this with your social worker or care co-ordinator. You can also talk
to the Direct Payments Team or look at Durham Information Guide
(DIG).
DIG is a free online database where you can search for adult social
care and support services, health and community information on
a countywide, regional and national basis.
DIG can help give you information about services and products
you can buy with your Direct Payments. To access DIG visit:
www.durham.gov.uk/dig
Will I get any ongoing support?
By this stage you will have choice and control over your care and
support and will be living your life through the choices you have
identified. The Direct Payments team will be available to provide
on-going support and advice to assist you with managing your
Direct Payments. Your social worker or care co-ordinator will
review your plan with you at an arranged date to see if everything
is going well and that the care and support services you have are
meeting your needs. If your circumstances change you do not
have to wait for your review. You can contact the Council at
anytime.
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To find out more
If you already receive care or support services from the Council
and have a social worker or care co-ordinator, speak to them
about using Direct Payments for part or all of your support needs.
If you don’t have a social worker or care co-ordinator please
contact Social Care Direct, as you will need to have an
assessment to find out if you are eligible for Direct Payments.
Social Care Direct
Telephone: 0845 8 50 50 10
Fax: 0191 383 5752
Textphone: 01429 884124
Text messaging: 07786 027280
Email: [email protected]
For more information about
Direct Payments visit:
www.durham.gov.uk/directpayments
[email protected]
03000 261 381
AWH7936 Adults, Wellbeing and Health, Marketing and Information Team, 2012