Arranging Support and Services (Carers)

1. Commissioning and Brokerage Procedures

When arranging carer's services or respite services for a person (as part of the support provided to a carer) you should use the Commissioning and Brokerage Procedures for guidance as required.

Click here to access the Commissioning and Brokerage Procedures.

2. Arranging Support for Carers who are using Informal or Alternative Support

If a carer has eligible needs and intends to use alternative methods of support to those available from the Local Authority they may decide to:

  1. End their Support Plan and involvement with the Local Authority; or
  2. Maintain their Support Plan but arrange all of the support without the involvement of the Local Authority; or
  3. Maintain their Support Plan and request the Local Authority arrange (or help arrange) the support in the plan.

If the carer wishes to end their Support Plan click here to access the procedures for ending a Support Plan, including the things you must consider before ending a plan.

If the carer wishes to maintain their Support Plan but arrange their support independently you should explain to them that:

  1. The Local Authority has a duty to support them to arrange the support/services in the plan if they request it; and
  2. What to do if they change their mind about arranging their own services; and
  3. Arrange appropriate measures to monitor the plan and ensure statutory reviews of the plan are carried out.

Click here to access the procedure for arranging alternative services.

3. Direct Payments

When the Support Plan has been signed off you should proceed to arrange the Direct Payment as set out in the plan.

Click here to access the Direct Payment procedures, including access to the process and documentation to support a Direct Payment to be arranged.

4. Urgent or Interim Support

When agreed any urgent and interim support should be arranged using the general Brokerage procedures. Click here to access them.

5. Providing Professional Support

Professional support is on-going support that you intend to personally provide to the carer that is above and beyond the statutory requirement to arrange, monitor and review services.

Examples of professional support include:

  1. Regular Wellbeing visits;
  2. Advocacy support;
  3. Counselling.

You should discuss and agree the need to provide professional support with your line manager, as often the support may be better provided by someone from within the carer's informal networks or a person or organisation with specialist skills.

If you do provide professional support the existence of the support should be clearly visible from the carer's records.

You must also keep proportionate records of all professional support provided and ensure that the need for professional support is reviewed regularly through statutory review functions and supervision.

6. Arranging Alternative Services

Alternative services are services or methods of support that may be included in a Support Plan to meet eligible needs but are provided outside of adult Care and Support. They include things like:

  1. Housing;
  2. Welfare benefits;
  3. Health provision;
  4. Colleges and training centres;
  5. Specialist transport services;
  6. A community based group or church; and
  7. A charitable support group.

Under the Care Act the duty to meet eligible needs is only discharged from the Local Authority when any alternative services in the Support Plan are in place. This means that you must be satisfied that:

  1. The carer will make appropriate and timely arrangements to meet eligible needs through the alternative services identified;
  2. The alternative services identified are available and can be provided in a timely way.

You must also consider any support that the carer may need to arrange the alternative service and whether the advocacy duty applies.

Click here to access the advocacy procedures, which include information about the duty and the advocacy referral process.

If you have any concerns that needs may not be met by an alternative service in the time or manner intended you must take steps to:

  1. Monitor the situation;
  2. Plan and agree what action the Local Authority will take if the alternative service is not provided to ensure that its duty to meet eligible needs is met (this could be the provision of interim support during any periods of delay).
In some situations it may be appropriate and proportionate to support the carer to make arrangements to access the alternative service in order to be satisfied that the service is in place and meeting needs as set out in the Support Plan. You can support the carer to arrange the service yourself or you could ask another person (such as a family member or an advocate) to do this.