Welcome to this Direct Payments website brought to you by Benefits Bob... The Welfare Weasel. Anyone who knows me, knows I say it like it is. Direct Payments is a strange beast. If you don't ask for it, you won't get it. Recognising that many mental health services users get confused by the mass of information (and dis-information) about claiming Direct Payments, I will endeavour to cover all you need to know to claim in a no-nonsense fashion. The take-up of Direct Payments by people experiencing mental health difficulties has been extremely low in most parts of the country. Direct Payments is a means tested, cash payment, given to individuals by Adult Care Services to enable them to buy services they have been assessed as needing e.g. mental health care requirements that may include: bus fares, taxis and trains, haircuts, gym membership, internet access but no alcohol, no drugs nor purchase of a car. It can be made to disabled people aged 16 or over, to people with parental responsibility for disabled children and to carers aged 16 or over in respect of carer services. The amount you receive will depend on the assessment your local council makes of your needs. Direct Payments is not a replacement of income and therefore does not affect any other benefits you may be receiving.

If the text above doesn't intrigue and make you want to know more about Direct Payments, my approach is probably not the right one for you. Everyone else grab a comfortable chair and dig in...

The aim of Direct Payments is to give more flexibility in how services are provided to people who are assessed as eligible for social services support. Providing money in lieu of social care services may give people greater choice and control over their lives and enable them to make their own decisions about how their care is delivered. This is a relatively new and complex scheme that is not always fully understood by services users. For people living in Hertfordshire who require individual advice and support, contact: Leonard Cheshire Direct Payments Support Scheme, 10 Latchmore Court, Brand Street, Hitchin SG5 1HX Tel: 01462 439002 or Hertfordshire County Council Adult Care Services, Tel: 01438 737400.

A person must be able to give their consent to receiving Direct Payments and be able to manage it even if they need help to do this on a day-to-day basis. If you already receive social services your local council is obliged to offer you the option of Direct Payments in place of the services you currently receive. There are some limited circumstances where you are not given this choice and your council will be able to tell you about these. If you're not receiving social services you will need to contact your local council to ask them to assess your needs.

Direct Payments is part of a change in practices, led by disabled people. Day-to-day control of the money and care package passes to the person who has the strongest incentive to ensure that it is spent properly on the necessary services and who is best placed to judge how to match available resources to needs. As a general principle, local councils should aim to leave choice in the hands of the individual by allowing people to address their own needs as they consider best, whilst satisfying themselves that the agreed outcomes are being achieved.

Direct Payments enable people to receive money in lieu of mental health services for social support/activity. The money can then be used by each person to meet their own needs in ways that they have chosen, giving them the flexibility to look beyond 'off-the-peg' service solutions for housing, employment, education and leisure activities as well as for personal assistance/support to meet their assessed needs. This is providing new opportunities for independent living, social inclusion and enhanced self-esteem.

It has been mandatory to offer Direct Payments to all people who are eligible to receive them since April 2003, but their use within mental health services remains low. There are also very large variations in use between local authority areas. As the choice of Direct Payments in lieu of a mental health service to meet social needs is a legal entitlement for a large number of people who use mental health services, Direct Payments needs to become a standard option within the Care Programme Approach. Services users, carers, statutory and voluntary sector staff, all have a rôle to play in achieving this.

Examples of what people have done with their money:
• Buying a dog
• Purchase of a mobile phone
• Guitar lessons
• Driving lessons
• Playing in a violin group
• Joining a fishing club
• Renting a workshop (two people together)
• Hiring an art teacher (four people together)
• Employing someone to manage a small enterprise (six people together)
• Participating and running an independent leisure, sport and social group (twenty people together)
• Paying for travelling to stay with relative for a break
• Broadband connection

Local authorities now have a duty to offer Direct Payments to people who are eligible and to make payments to those who want them. Direct payments offer greater independence and flexibility in support arrangements and for people from black and minority ethnic communities, this can mean improved access to culturally sensitive support. For people experiencing mental health problems Direct Payments can facilitate social inclusion, through providing support to access mainstream activities that are not stigmatising or mental health focused.

"It's all too difficult and complicated." Services users and staff working in mental health services may share a lack of awareness and confusion about Direct Payments for people experiencing mental health problems, creating a sense that "it's all too difficult and complicated". There are a number of issues.

For services users there may be confusion with another government initiative to pay benefits directly into people's bank accounts. Where people have heard of Direct Payments as a means of accessing social care there are concerns about the practicalities, particularly in relation to recruiting and employing staff, money management and excessive paperwork.

For staff working in mental health services there may be a sense of being overwhelmed by government initiatives in mental health, a consequent lack of clarity as to where Direct Payments fit in and therefore what their rôle should be.

There may also be confusion about eligibility with an assumption being wrongly made that Direct Payments are only for physically disabled people or should only be offered to people whom care co-ordinators view as capable of managing the payment. There could also be an underlying anxiety about the impact of Direct Payments on people's jobs.

Direct Payments in practice - Direct Payments are intended to empower services users by allowing them control and choice over the services they use to meet their needs. Each person on the scheme will be given an amount of money to be managed by themselves, possibly with the aid of others such as family or an external organisation. This money can be used to purchase any service or services that meet the person's assessed needs. As the money given to the person is given in lieu of the local authority providing the care, the money remains public money belonging to the local government who makes the payments. Users must, therefore, account for the money every step of the way so the local government can maintain its auditing requirements.

There is however, no requirement for a person to receive the entirety of their care needs through Direct Payments, people are free to mix Direct Payments for some of their needs with traditional methods of care provision. In some cases, Direct Payments can be used to directly employ a personal assistant. In this case, the Direct Payments user would be legally an employer with all the responsibilities this entails under UK law.

Abridged information received from Wendy Szczesiak:
1) There is no average direct payment, individuals are assessed and receive a direct payment to purchase services according to their eligible social care needs, and the amount can vary considerably depending on need.

2) Day care costs - You can not currently use a direct payment to purchase day centre care. From January 2010 your social care needs will be processed through a personal budget and an indicative budget will be calculated. You then will have the choice how you use your personal budget to meet your assessed needs, you may choose to have a direct service and attend the day centre, in this case a set amount will be deducted from your budget. Day centre services have not yet been fully costed. It is currently proposed that when personal budgets are introduced a cost of around £70 per day will be used until a full costing has been carried out.

3) Checking receipts - Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust [HPFT] staff will not be expected to check receipts unless Adult Care Services ask for them. Currently if you have a direct payment you are expected to send the Care payments Team at adult care services a statement from the direct payment bank account every three months and keep all receipts up to a year, this is to evidence monies paid out.

4) Why no allowance? - HPFT does not make decision of how care is funded. This is governed by the Department of Health and legislation. HPFT then has a responsibility to implement the legislation.

5) The purpose of a direct payment - A direct payment may be spent on purchasing services that will meet the identified eligible social care needs, this is down to the individual with guidance from care coordinators, it is to be reviewed at least once a year at which point it may be increased, decreased or stay the same depending on the current identified social care needs.

6) Getting back into the day centre - A personal budget will be reviewed yearly unless a major change in an individuals situation occurs then the personal budget will be reviewed sooner, at the review an individual has a choice about how their budget will be spent, they can have a directly commissioned service, a direct payment or a mixture of both, if they wish to attend the day centre this will be a direct service, if they chose to have a direct payment and then feel they would like to attend the day centre instead for what ever reason then if there is money in the budget and a place at the day centre they can be referred back.

Sources of information - Care Services Improvement Partnership, John Rowntree Foundation, Direct.gov.uk, Wikipedia and Wendy Szczesiak of Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust.

Usual disclaimer - The contents of this website are opinions only and do not represent a commitment. I am neither responsible for any action you do take or any action you do not take as a result of the information displayed here.

Conclusion - I wanted to get this uploaded as soon as possible, so it's somewhat disjointed and incomplete at the moment, but that should be fixed within a month. Oh, and remember to wear a Hard Hat here for the first few weeks, I am doing a lot of construction, so it may get a bit crazy at times.

Feedback is welcome. If you read anything you don't understand or you think something is incorrect please contact me and let me know. My goal is to connect with as many people as possible by cascading the information to other services users so please feel free to pass on the address of this website to those that may find it useful.

Best wishes & stay well from Benefit Bob - The Welfare Weasel.

Tel: St Albans 01727 851809.


Updated: 17 November 2009 p.s. Direct Payments may also be referred to as Individual Budgets or Personal Budgets. Direct Payments are means tested. At the time of updating this website I believe that the means testing rules that apply are; an upper limit of capital at £22,250 and an upper limit of savings at £8,000. However, I must stress that these figures may change and it is your responsibility to diligently investigate how the Direct Payments means testing rules apply to your own personal financial situation. Claiming benefits is like being in the Freemasons... you learn by degrees! ;)

Access Rethink PDF information on Direct Payments. To read the PDF you may require free software from Adobe.

Save a tree, read digitally. Please don't print unless you really have to, thanks! :)

p.s. The recent downturn of the economy and the imminent introduction of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) is likely to affect many mental health services users who are on welfare benefits. The Credit Crunch Bites. During these uncertain times and probable redundancies it is difficult to see how the Government will achieve it's target of getting one million people off sickness related welfare e.g. Incapacity Benefit and then on to ESA and eventually into gainful employment in the job market. Now more than ever it is imperative that mental health services users ensure that they are receiving all their rightful benefits and concessions to which they are entitled. A good place to start is my website: Mental Health Survival Guide - "Helping to break the link between disability and poverty." at: www.houlston.freeserve.co.uk/mental.htm

END OF FILE