Direct payments - Print version

What is a direct payment and who can have one?

What is a direct payment?

A direct payment is the sum of money that Coventry City Council will pay directly to you, so you can buy and arrange your own care and support, instead of the Council arranging it for you.

Direct payments are part of the Government's Personalisation agenda, which puts you central to the support you receive, helping you live as independently as possible and giving you more choice and control. Read our direct payments policy [/downloads/download/922/direct_payments_leaflet_and_policy].

Who can have a direct payment?

Adults, children, parents of disabled children, young people and carers [/carers] of any age who have had an assessment and have been told they are eligible for support from the Council with their social care needs.

ASC direct payments: Claire's story

ASC direct payments: Sean's story

How do I get a direct payment?

After you have had a social care assessment [/info/78/adult_social_care_support/980/assessments_eligibility_and_support_planning/2], and you have been told if you can get help from the Council with your eligible social care needs, you will then be told about the amount you might get to help you. This is called an 'indicative amount'.

When you and the Council have worked out the best ways to help you, the amount this help costs will be worked out. The Council will have to agree if this is the best way to meet your needs and the final amount the Council will contribute towards your support. When this has been agreed, this is called a 'Personal Budget'.

The Council will ask you if you would like to have the 'Personal Budget' paid to you, or someone you know who wants to help you. This is so you can pay for your own support yourself. This means you can to choose who helps you at the times that fit in with your life and in the way you think is the best.  When your 'Personal Budget' is paid to you this is called a 'Direct Payment'.

You can have some of the money paid to you, as a direct payment, for you to organise some of your support, you can also ask the Council to set up the rest of your support. This is called a 'mixed package'.

The Council will assess if you are able to make a decision about having a direct payment. For example, if you understand and can remember what a direct payment is and how it can be used, and if you understand/remember what is involved with being an employer of staff who will support you.

If you cannot make this decision yourself, the Council can ask someone who knows you well to help to make this decision with you. This could be family or friends.

The Council will also need to assess if you can manage a direct payment on your own, or whether you might need some help. Managing direct payments can mean you become an employer of carers, you have to complete paperwork and also follow set rules and law.

If you do decide to employ your own staff to support you, these workers are called 'Personal Assistants [https://www.penderelstrust.org.uk/recruitment-centre.php]'.

If you need help to manage, you can ask someone to manage this for you and/or the Council can ask someone to do this for you.

The Council sometimes can ask other organisations to help people to manage their direct payment (see the page called 'Can I have support to manage a direct payment?).

Is there anyone who cannot have a direct payment?

Some people cannot have a direct payment if they are detained under specific sections under the Mental Health Act and are also subject to a guardianship or drugs and/or alcohol order.

Some other people cannot have a direct payment if they are unable to decide to have a direct payment, or manage a direct payment on their own, and they do not have anyone else to help them.

Some people cannot have a direct payment if they want to buy things that the law says that direct payments cannot be used for (see page called 'What I cannot spend a direct payment on?).

How much will the Council pay towards direct payments?

How much will the Council pay towards direct payments?

The amount the Council will pay towards a direct payment will be based on the result of the adult, child's or carers assessment and unit of support (the number of hours, days, weeks or nights) that are required to meet their assessed eligible needs. Guideline direct payment rates (i.e. the amount of money the Council will pay per unit of support) will then be applied.   

Once a direct payment is approved, the details of this will be recorded in the adult, child or carer's "Care and Support Plan", or for a child, the "Child in Need or Early Help Plan". If you, or the person managing the direct payment on your behalf, need your existing direct payment rate increasing to reflect an increase in the costs of care, you will need to contact Adult Social Care on 024 7683 3003, or the Children with Disabilities team on 024 7678 7980 to request an increase. You may require a review of your needs and/or your direct payment before a decision about additional funding is made.

These rates specified below are a guide when arranging and reviewing direct payments. These rates are subject to change at any time due to inflationary increases, changes in legislation or the changes in the availability or costs of support in the local market (there are some exceptions to the guideline rates below).

Hourly direct payment rates

Direct payment type	Hourly rate
Care Agency rate	£20.00 from 3/04/23
Care Agency night rate	Case by case and based on current National Living Wage requirements.
Personal Assistant rate	£14.93 from 3/04/23
Personal Assistant night rate	Case by case and based on current National Living Wage requirements.

 

Exceptions

1. Adults, carers and parents of disabled children in receipt of direct payments can contribute towards the costs of buying a service of their choice when the cost is greater than the amount Coventry City Council is paying to them. They may also wish to contribute in order to pay a higher salary to their personal assistants.
2. The Council can agree to pay more than the direct payment guideline rate when the direct payment recipient has no choice but to buy support from a care provider who charges more than the direct payment rate. For example, if there is only one care agency in Coventry that can meet the eligible needs of the child, adult or carer.
3. The Council will pay less than the Council direct payment guideline rate if the care and support service the direct payment recipient chooses to buy costs less than the direct payment rate.

See the direct payment rates for other types of support in the table below.

Other direct payment rates

Type of support	Rate
Day opportunities/activities	Equivalent to the average rate the Council would pay for day opportunities or short break activities to meet the eligible needs of the adult or child. This could either be a total day or an hourly rate for a personal assistant/agency (see page 1).
Replacement care (adults) or 'Short breaks' (Children with Disabilities) - weekly short break hours	Use direct hourly personal assistant/agency rates on page 1. In adults, any assessed contribution would be applied weekly and deducted from the value of the direct payment.
Short-term Residential respite (less than 4 weeks in one period) - weekly	Equivalent to the average weekly residential rate the Council would pay to meet the needs of the adult or child. The amount could be paid weekly or one off. In adults, the assessed contribution should be applied for the number of weeks the respite is used.
Replacement care (adults) or  'Short breaks' (Children with Disabilities) - as and when required	Use the hourly rate for personal assistant/agency above and apply this to the amount of replacement care/short breaks recorded in the care and support plan, Child in Need Plan or Early Help Plan. Examples of this type of care and support could be: 4 hours per week used flexibly (1 hour one week, 6 hours another and 2 weeks no hours are used - the other hours are banked for a later point - funding is collected back at the end of the year 6 hours per week term time and 10 hours per week in School holidays 28 days per year 1 day per month 3 weekends per year The amount could be paid weekly or one off. In adults, the assessed contribution will be applied weekly and deducted from the value of the direct payment.
One off direct payments for equipment and adaptations (not funded by Disabled Facilities Grant)	Equivalent to the standard rates paid by the Council for equipment and adaptations.
Other one off direct payments	There are no guideline direct payment rate for one offs for other purposes other than set out above. The value will need to reflect the most cost effective way to meet the adults, carers or child's needs. If one off payments are necessary for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks then £66 needs to be paid to the DP recipient to cover these costs.

How often will I get a direct payment and how can I spend it?

How often will I get a direct payment?

Some people need help all the time and will get paid the direct payment every four weeks.

Other people will need help once, or for a short time, and could be paid a one-off direct payment.

What can I do with my direct payment?

There is no 'set' list of support, activities or goods that you can buy with your direct payment.

You have to use your direct payment to meet your eligible needs that the Council has found out about from your assessment and are recorded in your support plan.

As long as the direct payment is used to meet eligible needs it is up to you, or the person managing this on your behalf if you cannot make these decisions, to choose the best way to meet your needs which could be as follows:

• Help at home or out and about by Personal Assistants [https://www.penderelstrust.org.uk/recruitment-centre.php] or Care Agencies
• Activities, interests and goods
• Short breaks
• Equipment and Adaptations [/info/78/care_and_support/2448/types_of_support/2] (this will only be agreed following an assessment by an occupational therapist).

You will need to discuss and agree your plans with the Council.

What support can I get with my direct payment and how will it make my life better?

You can use your direct payment to pay to go on training courses when it is needed to support you or to pay for some of the costs of employing staff .

In exceptional circumstances, we can pay for family members living in the same house as you to help you manage your direct payment. Penderels Trust, are an organisation that is paid by the council to support people with managing their direct payments. They can be contacted on 024 7651 1611 or Coventry@penderelstrust.org.uk [mailto:Coventry@penderelstrust.org.uk]. You can find out more by visiting the Penderels Trust website [https://www.penderelstrust.org.uk/].

You can also ask for help from your social care worker or our Independent Living team by telephoning 02475 270960 or sending an email to  independentliving@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:independentliving@coventry.gov.uk]

How can a direct payment make my life better?

People that have direct payments are able to choose who, how and when they are supported.

This means that they are able to have help that fits in with their life, their family and what they like to do or that they need to do.

What do I need to do when I get a direct payment?

In Coventry, the default way of receiving a direct payment is via a prepaid card [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/35122/prepaid-card-for-direct-payments] that the Council will set up for you.  

The Council will load money on to a card (similar to a debit card) which you can then spend on your care and support needs. More details about prepaid cards can be found in the following section. 

In a small number of cases people that have direct payment may be asked to open a bank account to receive the direct payment money in to instead of receiving it via a Prepaid card.  

If this happens, we will ask them to send us statements from their bank account  and complete some forms usually every 6 months to tell us how they have been spending the money for care and support. 

People that have direct payments may be asked to keep all receipts and invoices to show the Council how they have spent the money. 

Some people that have direct payments set up their own care and support by buying support from care agencies. Other people employ their own staff called Personal Assistants [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/78/care_and_support/2448/types_of_support/2#PA#PA] This means they are the employer and have to do things like make payments to the tax office, organising rotas, submitting timesheets to a payroll service and paying wages. Penderels Trust [http://www.penderelstrust.org.uk/] can help you with this. 

It is important for people that have direct payments to have plans about how to stay safe and what to do for example if carers cannot come into work one day.

 

What happens when I am set up on a prepaid card and how does the prepaid card work?

Prepaid cards [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/35122/prepaid-card-for-direct-payments] are the Council's preferred way of paying Direct Payments.

The Council will set up your card for you.

If you need help to manage your Direct Payment you can give us the name of a trusted person who agrees to manage the card on your behalf, the card will then be set up in their name.

If a trusted person is managing the card on your behalf, they will have to provide 1 or 2 types of identification before the card can be set up by the Council on your behalf. This identification will need to be seen by your allocated worker or by the Independent Living Team.

When your card has been requested it will arrive in the post along with instructions telling you how to activate the card.

Once the funding has been approved, the funding will be paid onto the card.

You can then use your card to set up payments as you would with a traditional bank account or debit card. You will be able to set up payments either online or over the phone.

You can check your account online or request statements from the Council if necessary. The Council will also be able to view your account online.

For more information about receiving your direct payment via a prepaid card download/request a copy of our prepaid card leaflet.

Who can I contact to discuss my Prepaid Card?

• To activate your card, check your pin or report that your card is lost or stolen, contact Prepaid Financial Services IVR number on: 0203 327 1991.
• For support using your card and managing your Direct Payment (e.g. setting up payments online) please contact Penderels Trust on: 024 7651 1611.
• To set up payments over the phone contact Prepaid Financial Services Customer Service Team on: 020 3985 9354. 
• For queries about funding or how you can use your Direct Payment contact Coventry City Council Independent Living Team on: 024 7527 0960 [tel:02475270960] or email: independentliving@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:independentliving@coventry.gov.uk]

Will it affect my benefits or the money I earn from a job?

A direct payment is not a benefit. This means that it will not affect any benefits or pensions you receive.

Every adult that has ongoing help with their needs from the Council will have another assessment to work out how much they have to pay towards the care and support they get from the Council. This is called a 'financial assessment' [/info/75/money_and_legal_matters/2453/financial_assessment_overview]. Parents/carers of disabled children will not have a financial assessment.

We will tell you how much you have to pay and how you will have to pay for this when the direct payment is set up.

How do I find out more?

• Download and print our Direct Payments leaflets [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/6581/direct-payments-leaflets]
• Phone your current social care team or assessor that is helping you (e.g. social worker, community psychiatric nurse, community care worker, broker or occupational therapist).
• Phone the Independent Living Team on telephone 024 7527 0960.
• If you are not sure which team to contact, please call 024 7683 3333 and they will put you through to the correct team.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and managing your Direct Payment

We are learning to live with Covid-19 now that restrictions have been removed.

You might be employing personal assistants and using care agency staff with your direct payment, but would still like your staff to wear PPE

Please seek advice from your Employment Liability insurer and speak to your care provider if you have any concerns. 

You can also contact Penderels Trust on 024 7651 1611 or visit the Penderels Trust website [https://www.penderelstrust.org.uk/] for further advice. 

If you would like to discuss this further or you require further advice, please contact the Council Independent Living Team on 024 7527 0960 or independentliving@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:independentliving@coventry.gov.uk].