A Brief Guide to Direct Payments

• Following an assessment, of your social care needs, you can choose to have a direct payment to purchase your own support.
• We will pay £10.40 per hour for every hour of care you are assessed as needing and you can use this payment to either employ your own carer(s) or to contract with a care agency.
• You can pay a relative to provide your care but they must not live in your home.
• The money can only be used to meet your assessed needs but you can choose who provides the care, what time they come, and what you do. For example, you might choose to employ a friend to provide your personal care, or take you out for the day rather than go to a day centre.
• If you have a contribution to make towards the cost of your care this amount will be deducted from your direct payment.
• The money must be paid into a separate bank account and you will be asked to provide receipts to show how it has been spent.
• You can choose to have some of your care provided through direct payments and some through more traditional services