ECIL's introduction to Direct Payments

What are Direct Payments?

Direct Payments are a way for Social Services to help you which will allow you the flexibility to run your life in the way you choose. Instead of giving you services, such as those listed below, they give you money instead, so that you can take control and pay for the help and support that you need.

Helpers from an agency who come to your home.

A place at a day centre.

Special equipment.

Meals on wheels.

Who can get Direct Payments?

You must be getting a package of care from Social Services to get a Direct Payment. If you are under 16, your parents or the people who look after you can get Direct Payments for you.

There are a few people who are not allowed to get Direct Payments. These are:

People who have mental health issues and, as a result, have been ordered to go into hospital, or get help under the laws about mental health.

People who have been told that they must have someone to look after their money and make decisions about their lives. This does not normally mean people with learning difficulties.

How you use Direct Payments?

With Direct Payments you can:

pay people in your family to help you.

employ a friend or someone you recruit through an advert to help you.

pay an agency to send people to help you.

buy equipment that will help make your life easier.

In Ealing, people with learning disabilities can use Direct Payments to attend IMPACT Theatre Company or Supercare, Ealing Mencap’s training and employment project. (go to link below for more information)

How to get Direct Payments?

If you are starting from scratch and currently have no care package, contact Social Services. The telephone number is 020 8825 8000 or phone the council on 020 8825 5000. You need to ask Social Services for a Community Care assessment, so that they can find out about the help you need with your everyday life.

If you already get help from Social Services and want to find out about getting Direct Payments, you need to ask for an assessment.

Before having an assessment, try and think about exactly what help you need and when you need it. A useful way to do this is to keep diary for a typical week, making a note of things that you do each day and the things with which you need help.

Combining Direct Payments and other services

You can choose to have a Direct Payment for part of your provision. For example, you may use an agency provided by the council to get you up in the morning and use a Direct Payment to pay someone to help you to go to bed.

Other ways of receiving Direct Payments

Using an appointee

If you want the freedom of Direct Payments, but don’t think you can look after the money on your own, you can have your Direct Payments paid to someone else who will look after it for you. You can choose who this might be - your mum, dad, another relative or someone else who you know really well and can trust to do the right thing for you. Whoever you choose, this person is called the appointee or agent. They will have to come to some Social Services meetings with you and will have to sign a form to say they will look after the money you get from Direct Payments and use it for the help you need.

Setting up a Trust

If you don’t know someone who would do to do this, there is another way it can be done, which is called setting up a trust. A trust is like a very small charity that is set up to look after your Direct Payments. You need a solicitor to write the trust’s rules. There are normally three or four members of the trust and you are one of them. The members are in charge of the money and how it is spent for you. They have to listen to what you want and then work out the best way to use the Direct Payments to get the help that you need. The trust then looks after your Direct Payments and deals with Social Services for you.

The Independent Living Fund

This is a fund that can give you extra money to add to your Direct Payments, if you need a lot of help. Your social worker needs to be involved in any application to The Independent Living Fund. You can get more information from ECIL, Ealing Direct (see below) or from your social worker.

Further support

Ealing Direct is part of Ealing Council and will support you after you have got your Direct Payments in place. It is based at 44 South Ealing Road, W5 4QA and the telephone number is: 020 8840 2356. The lead person there is Tracey Chilton.

ECIL can also offer you advice, information and support with regard to Direct Payments.