Direct Payments

Direct Payments help you to have more choice about the services you receive.

Direct Payments help you have more control over the way your services are designed.

Find out more:
What are Direct Payments?
Who can get a Direct Payment
How you can get a Direct Payment
Paying your Contribution
What you can use Direct Payments for
How KDC can help

Read an Easy guide to Direct Payments.

What are Direct Payments?
Direct Payments are cash payments made to individuals who have been assessed as eligible to receive social care or support from their social services department. So instead of your Local Authority arranging or providing your services directly, you are given the money to buy the support and services you need.

Who can get a Direct Payment?
Anyone who has been assessed as needing a service provided by the Council’s social services department can choose to fund the services they need via a Direct Payment. Direct Payments are available to:

• disabled people over 16
• older people
• parents of disabled children
• people affected by mental illness
• carers who are over 16 (for their own needs)

How can you get a Direct Payment?
Ask the council whether Direct Payments may be a possibility for you. For people living in Knowsley you need to contact the Knowsley Access Team in the first instance on 0151 443 2600 or email AdultSocialCare@knowsley.gov.uk. Your social worker, care manager or key worker will be able to help you get a Direct Payment.

Once you have been assessed and the budget for your support plan has been agreed you will need to open a dedicated bank account for your direct payment.

Paying your Contribution
When accessing Direct Payments everyone has a financial assessment. This will determine how much (if anything) you should pay towards the costs of your care and support. This is called your ‘client contribution’ and will be deducted from the amount of the Direct Payment that the Council will pay into your dedicated direct payment bank account every four weeks. This is the method that the council uses to collect your contribution. It is important for you to make arrangements to pay the amount of your client contribution into your direct payment bank account, otherwise you will not have enough money to cover your care and support.

KDC will give you lots of advice and assistance to help you make the necessary initial arrangements as well as continued on-going support to manage your Direct Payment successfully.

What can you use Direct Payments for?
You can use Direct Payments to pay for any services or support that meet your assessed needs. These will be described as outcomes in your care or support plan. In Knowsley, there are lots of different ways that people spend their Direct Payments. Some common examples are:

• Employing a personal assistant
• Using a domiciliary care agency of your choice
• Community-based short breaks or respite care in residential accommodation
• Taking part in community activities
• Transportation and travel
• Domestic and household tasks

 

The council will keep a check on your spending to make sure that your outcomes continue to be achieved

How can we help?
We provide a specialist service for people who receive Direct Payments. We offer information, support and advice on all aspects, making it easier for you to:

• think about your support needs
• find the right support
• manage your Direct Payment bank account
• recruit a personal assistant
• be a good employer
• manage your payroll
• keep a record of your spending
• link with other Direct Payments users in Knowsley
• stay in touch with latest news and developments

For those people who cannot manage Direct Payments for themselves, we can offer a Managed Account Service which takes care of most of the responsibilities on their behalf. Download our leaflet for more information here

The Department of Health has published A Guide to Receiving Direct Payments from your Local Council click here to download a copy

For more information, contact the Direct Payments Team at KDC:
0151 480 8873 or andy.gilbert@kdc.org.uk
Click here to download the Direct Payments leaflet