Guide to direct payments

1. Overview

What are direct payments?

Direct payments are money that we give you so that you can organise and buy the care and support you need – instead of us doing this for you.

We always offer direct payments as a way of providing your care and support. You do not have to use them unless you want to, the choice is yours.

Direct payments are not seen as income and have no effect on tax or benefits. They are just one way of receiving support from social care.

Who can get direct payments?

You can get direct payments if you:

  • receive support from adult social care (aged 18 or over)
  • care for an adult
  • are a disabled child

You need to have a Care Act needs assessment to be offered direct payments.

What are the benefits of direct payments?

The biggest advantage of direct payments is the choice and control it gives you over your own care. You can:

  • choose the person or agency you want to use
  • pick which hours suit you
  • decide what tasks you want carried out

How you can spend direct payments

There are a few specific rules around how you can spend direct payments.

The main rule is that you must use them to meet your eligible care and support needs. These will be agreed in advance as part of your support plan.

Employing personal assistants

Some people choose to use direct payments to employ their own staff called personal assistants. Personal assistants can help you with:

  • personal care, such as getting washed and dressed
  • household tasks, such as cleaning and tidying
  • attending activities outside your home 

There is lots of help available for people who want to employ their own personal assistants. This is explained on the next page of this guide.

Buying support from companies

Many companies and voluntary organisations provide services such as home care, respite care or day care.

Respite and short breaks

Some people choose to use direct payments to arrange short breaks from caring (respite care).

What else can direct payments be used for?

You can use direct payments to pay for anything that meets your needs and has been agreed in your support plan. You can discuss the different options with your social care worker.

Find out more in our factsheet:

How direct payments will be paid to you

We offer several options for how direct payments can be paid to you. These each offer different ways you can make payments and record how you have used the money.

Please see our factsheet for more information:

Help with direct payments

Choosing direct payments can mean a little extra work for you to arrange your own support. Some people find this easy and others can find it a bit harder. 

We use an organisation called Independent Lives which offers free support if you choose to employ a personal assistant.

This includes:

  • understanding the rules that employers must follow, such as employment law, insurance, tax and national insurance
  • writing job descriptions
  • recruiting staff
  • performing checks on possible personal assistants
  • ongoing support with being an employer

Buying services

You can also choose to buy services from one of our three direct payment support services:

  • Independent Lives
  • People Places Lives
  • Purple

They all offer a payroll service. This calculates how much you need to pay your personal assistants each month and what you must pay in tax.

Contact the direct payment support services

Find out more about each direct payment support services, including what they offer and how much this costs:

Independent Lives

Phone: 01903 219 482 (option 3)
Email: advice@independentlives.org
Website: Independent Lives

People Places Lives

Phone: 0330 123 2815
Email: ilseastsussex@peopleplus.co.uk
Website: People Placees Lives

Purple

Phone: 01323 403478
Email: eastsussex@purple-dpss.co.uk
Website: Purple

Join a direct payments support group

Independent Living East Sussex is a support group which meets once a month. It is run by volunteers who receive direct payments themselves or on behalf of someone else.

It's a forum where you can:

  • share your experiences of receiving direct payments
  • get support from people who understand your situation
  • find solutions to any problems you are having

Often guest speakers will also come along to give presentations about relevant topics.

Where and when

12pm to 2pm on the first Wednesday of each month

SEAP office
7th floor, Cavendish House
Breeds Place
Hastings TN34 3AA

Join the group

If you would like to join the support group:

Phone: 07547 563 014
Email: hello@ilesonline.org.uk