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What are Direct Payments and Individual/Personal Budgets
Direct Payments are cash payments made to individuals who have been assessed as needing services, in lieu of social service provisions.
Who can receive a Direct Payment?
They can be made to disabled people aged 16 or over, to people with parental responsibility for disabled children, and to carers aged 16 or over in respect of carer services. A person must be able to consent to have a Direct Payment and have the capacity to manage one, although they can have assistance to manage their payment on a day-to-day basis.
Giving people choice and control over their own care. The aim of a Direct Payment is to give more flexibility in how services are provided. By giving individuals money in lieu of social care services, people have greater choice and control over their lives, and are able to make their own decisions about how their care is delivered.
Personal Budgets/Individual Budgets
This is the new way that all new users of social care help will be obtained. It allows the person to be in control and to be at the centre of all planning - essentially people will self assess themselves. An amount of money will be decided and a support plan will be written by the person themselves, the plan will show what`s important to them and what needs changing. IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU. If the person needs help to write their support plan, it can be given by family, friends, a supporter, a social worker or an independent support planner - this plan can be in any format, e.g. pictures, video etc. This plan should demonstrate how care/life will be organized in the future to better suit the individuals needs.
The sum of money will be paid direct to you but unlike a Direct Payment it is much more flexible.
An Individual Budget is the same as a Personal Budget but it involves other streams of financial aid, like Independent Living Allowance or Supporting People money.
To find out more go to the Essex County Council personal/individual budget page.
