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Contents

1. What are Direct Payments?
2. Who can Get Direct Payments?
3. How Often are Direct Payments Made?
4. What is the Process?
5. Direct Payments Can be Spent on Employing a Personal Assistant (PA)
6. Direct Payments Can also be Spent On
7. Direct Payments Can Not be Spent On
8. What are the Benefits of Direct Payments

1. What are Direct Payments?

A Direct Payment is money given to parents/carers or young people, by the authority, to enable them to buy in support that is assessed as being needed, instead of the authority providing that support through their own services i.e. residential care or outreach services. Direct Payments do not affect benefits.

2. Who can get Direct Payments?

Those who have been assessed as meeting the criteria for the receipt of services and are:

• Parents of a child with disabilities under 18;
• Young people with disabilities (16-18).

3. How Often are Direct Payments Made?

Direct Payments are paid in advance into a bank or building society account specifically set up for this purpose, as a one off payment or on a regularly basis according to the assessed need. For example, if the direct payment is assessed as being needed at key times e.g. school holidays, then payment will be made accordingly.

4. What is the Process?

The Process for Making a Direct Payment

The following stages should be followed in the direct payment process:

• Referral or service request made to Children’s Disability Social Care Team;
• Child / family needs assessed by a Social Worker in order to identify both eligibility and priority for services and establishing whether the identified needs can be met through a direct payment;
• Identify what the direct payment will be used for and the role and responsibilities of all involved. Ensure that family / young person is willing and able to administer Direct Payment with appropriate support;
• Complete all the appropriate sections of the Direct Payment Authorisation Pack;
• The request is then presented to the respite panel (if only social care needs) or continuing care panel (if child eligible for continuing care). Panel will make a decision on relevance of Direct Payment and the amount per month/week;
•  The social worker should contact the Stockport Choosing and Purchasing Team to set up the appropriate direct payments. This team will then administer and monitor the expenditure;
• The Choosing and Purchasing Team will provide the service user with the appropriate advice/guidance to arrange/develop their support package;
• Direct Payments begin. (The support service requires a minimum of 28 days from receiving the completed Authorisation Pack to making the first payment to the service user);
• The Choosing and Purchasing Team will begin the financial monitoring process;
• Review at agreed points confirming eligibility and priority criteria;
• There is no difference between the assessment of needs for a directly provided service or a direct payment, they are part of the same process.

Process Diagram

Click here to view the Process Diagram.

5. Direct Payments Can be Spent on Employing a Personal Assistant (PA)

• To take the young person/child into the community to access an activity, support inclusion, going to a club etc;
• To work with the child directly within the home, to give parents and siblings a break;
• To stay overnight for a short break.

6. Direct Payments Can also be Spent On

Advice, guidance, counselling, occupational, social, cultural or recreational activities, home help or attendance at family centres. Section 17 Payments will only be treated as a Direct Payment if the payment covers support/services for a period in excess of 8 weeks.

7. Direct Payments Can Not be Spent On

• Direct payments cannot be used to purchase services that the child/ family have not been assessed as needing.

• The 16 and 17 year old disabled person cannot receive direct payments for services that other family members have been assessed as needing.

•  Direct payments cannot be used to secure services from a close relative living in the same household or from someone else living in the household (this does not include live-in personal assistants). Exceptions may be made if the relevant Service Manager (with agreement from the Direct Payments Development Manger) is satisfied that to employ a relative or someone living in the same household is the only way to secure an appropriate service.

•  Direct payments cannot be used to purchase permanent residential care.

8. What are the Benefits of Direct Payments?

Direct Payments allow parents and young people greater choice, flexibility and control, to employ their own workers at times convenient to them and in the way they wish, to provide an individual service to meet their needs.

End