What is a personal budget?
A personal budget is money allocated by your local council to help pay for your care and support needs. They give you the freedom and flexibility to choose how your care and support is arranged and provided. You can make choices about what support you receive and who you’d like to be supported by.
The amount of money you receive will be based on a needs assessment with your council to discuss the help you need and what you’re entitled to. This considers the type of support you need, what it costs, and how much you can afford to contribute yourself.
Options for managing a personal budget
There are three ways you can manage your personal budget. You can choose one option or have a mix of all three options. The options available are:
Direct Payment
Your personal budget is paid directly to you, and you decide how to spend your money. You can also nominate someone to receive the money on your behalf and support you in paying for your care.
Managed Account
You can arrange for your local council to manage your personal budget for you. They will organise and pay for your care and support on your behalf.
Third party arrangement
You can have your allowance paid directly to your care provider. Your local council arranges the payments for you. Some providers may charge extra to arrange payments directly with the council.
Benefits of direct payments
Direct payments put you in control of your personal budget. This is paid directly to you and you are responsible for paying for your care and support needs. You can also nominate a person to receive the direct payment on your behalf. This could be a family member, friend, or your care worker. It’s important you’re sure the person you nominate will act in your best interests.
You can apply for a direct payment if:
- You have eligible social care needs that require support.
- You can manage your payments by yourself or with help.
- A personal budget would help you pay for your support.
Once a direct payment has been set, you’ll be supported to develop a care and support plan. The plan will outline how you’ll spend your budget to meet your support needs.
Personal health budgets
We also support people with personal health budgets – an amount of money based on identified health and wellbeing needs. This budget is agreed between you and your local NHS team.
A personal health budget enables you to plan and choose how you’d like to use the money to meet your health and care needs. The aim is to give you flexibility over how your support is arranged and provided.
An integrated health and care personal budget is where the budget includes funding from both the Local Authority and the NHS.
Find out more
If you would like to know more about personal budgets and how they could help you, download our free guide. If you already have a personal budget and would like to know more about paying for your care, call our friendly team today on 0800 0353 776.
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