Factsheet: Paying for services with direct payments

Print page

Summary

April 2025 (FS17)

This factsheet explains the different ways you can use direct payments to pay for care and support.

Printing in Large Print

To print this factsheet in Large Print, select the 'Print Page' link.

In your print settings, increase the Scale (%) setting before printing. This may be under 'other' or advanced print settings.

What are direct payments?

‘Direct payments’ is money that is allocated for your social care support that is paid directly to you. You can use it to pay for support that you choose. It is the main way to receive all or part of a personal budget if you want to have control of the money.

If you use direct payments, we will pay you the same amount of money that we would pay if we were arranging your care.

What services can be paid for?

You can use direct payments to buy anything that meets your eligible needs and has been agreed in your support plan. This might include:

equipment to keep you independent
non-traditional services that meet your needs
employing a personal assistant
paying a home care company
short breaks in a residential care home

Employing personal assistants

Some people use direct payments to employ personal assistants. Personal assistants can help you with:

personal care (washing and dressing)
household tasks (cleaning and tidying)
activities outside your home (taking you to appointments and events)

Employing a personal assistant gives many people the greatest choice and control over their lives. You get to choose who helps you, when they help, and how they provide care and support. It means that your care and support can be flexible and fit with your day-to-day needs.

Employing staff might sound complicated, but there is lots of help available.

We can put you in touch with Independent Lives, an organisation that supports people who employ personal assistants. They can help with finding the right staff, employment contracts, payments and more.

Contact Independent Lives for more information:

Independent Lives

Phone: 01903 219 482 (option 3)

Email: advice@independentlives.org

Using direct payments to pay a home care company

You can use direct payments to pay for home care directly from a care company.

You can choose which company to use and will have more control over when and how you use the hours available to you. You can arrange care that suits your schedule.

Your care manager can help you find a good provider in your area. Our directory, East Sussex 1Space is a helpful place to find services near you too:

East Sussex 1Space directory

Paying a care home for respite or a short break

You can use direct payments to buy short stays in residential care homes. This means you can arrange short breaks as and when you need them. This might be to give you or your carer a break from your normal arrangements. Your social care worker will help you find a place that suits you.

If you use direct payments to buy short breaks, we will send you a form called an ‘individual service agreement’. You must sign and return this form to say that you will use the money in the right way.

You can choose services that cost the same as your direct payment, plus your own contribution, or you can choose a more expensive service and pay extra towards this yourself.

If you feel that you need a break, you can contact your chosen care home and book a stay. It is important to agree how much the break will cost and make sure you are clear about any terms and conditions that apply. Most care homes will still charge you for your stay if you cancel at short notice (usually within 24 hours).

You are responsible for paying for your stay. When you pay, ask for a receipt so that you have a record of the payment.

You can use your direct payment account to pay the bill. Once you have paid, you need to call or email the direct payments monitoring team who will check your account. If another respite payment is available, this will be made into the direct payment account.