Personal budget
A personal budget is the amount of money the council allocates for your care, based on an assessment of your needs.
Getting a personal budget
Before the council can allocate you a personal budget, you will need to be assessed twice: first for your care needs and second for your financial situation. You cannot be allocated a personal budget unless both assessments have taken place.
Different ways to manage your personal budget
When you have been allocated your personal budget, you can choose to have it managed in one (or a combination) of the management options below:
- Direct payments - you are given your budget as a direct payment and organise any care and support yourself.
- Virtual budget - the council will manage your budget and support services on your behalf.
- Mixed approach - where you would like to take some of your personal budget as a direct payment and the rest as a virtual budget.
Support plan and reviews
Following an assessment, if you have care and support needs, the next stage is to draw up a care and support plan.
Your support plan sets out what care and support will meet your needs.
A support plan describes:
- what your assessed needs are
- outcomes you need or wish to achieve
- which needs the council will meet and how we will meet them
- information and advice on how to prevent, reduce or delay your future needs for social care
You will be involved in putting together your support plan so you can share your views and preferences. We will give you a copy of both your assessment and your support plan.
Reviewing a support plan
Your support plan will be reviewed within the first few months of support starting and then once every year to see what's working, what's not working and if it's still the best support for you.
If at any time you're unhappy or wish to discuss your care, please contact adult social services to discuss this and you can ask for a review.