The making of a direct payment by the Local Authority to the supported person for the provision of support.

In Brief:

You can arrange your own support by employing someone (known as a Personal Assistant (PA)), or by personally arranging with a care provider.

The direct payment would either be paid into a bank account you specifically open for this, or directly to a managed payroll company that you have engaged to manage employee payments and administration.  The amount of funding is what the Local Authority considers a reasonable estimate of the cost of securing the provision of your support.

There is a clear contract between the local authority and you regarding what this money must be used for. The opportunities that go with this option include the choice, control and flexibility you would have regarding the service provisions and who supplies the support and when. You will have the responsibility of engaging with a service provider or by contracting with an individual on an employment basis. If you choose to employ, you are then responsible for organising your own support and in the recruitment of your staff.

By choosing to become an employer you have to ensure that you fulfil their statutory and contractual obligations to your employee.

This option is where you select the Provider, and direct how you want the budget to be spent with the Provider, to meet your agreed outcomes. The Local Authority or a third party would hold the budget and be responsible for paying the provider.

In Brief:

When you are assessed and are found eligible for social work services, a budget is created that will allow for the support required to be purchased. This support should meet the outcomes you have jointly agreed with Social Work. An Individual Service Fund is where you choose your Provider and decide how your support should be delivered. You do not hold the finances, however you control how the budget is spent.  The budget will be managed either by the care provider or the local authority on your behalf. The money is restricted for use on your support and accounted for on that basis. Allowing you to choose a care provider means that, in collaboration with them, you have some direction over the way the support is provided, to meet the outcomes in your support plan.

The local authority selects the appropriate support and arranges on your behalf.

In Brief:

This option is what many people experience at the moment; this is where the Council organises the support for them. This is sometimes referred to as traditional services or local authority arranged services.

The local authority deals with the arranging and paying of the support provided to you.

This support would be what they see as appropriate to your requirements.

This option is a combination of two or more of the other options.

In Brief:

This recognises that you may be content enough to take on some, but not all, of the control associated with one or other of the self directed options. This is a mix and match approach to ensure maximum flexibility in the options available.