The Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 (“the Act”) gives local authorities the power to make cash payments for community care direct to individuals who need services. Direct payments are able to bring about improvements in the quality of life of people who would like to manage their own support. They promote independence, and they aid social inclusion by offering opportunities for rehabilitation, for education, leisure and employment for people in need of community care.

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. When setting up a direct payments scheme, local authorities should consider how to include people with different kinds of impairment, people from different ethnic backgrounds and people of different ages. They should think imaginatively about the provision of direct payments for both intensive packages and lower level services, about long and short term provision and about how direct payments can be assimilated into preventive and rehabilitative strategies. The Government wants to see more extensive use made of direct payments.

Direct Payments from Social Services - Feb 2000

To be eligible for a direct payment you must be

1. aged 18 or over;

2. a disabled person as defined by section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948. This includes people who have any kind of impairment caused by physical disabilities, sensory impairments, learning disability, or are affected by an illness or condition (such as mental illness, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, a heart condition, etc);

3. assessed as needing services;

4. not subject to certain mental health or criminal justice legislation which carry elements of compulsion;

5. willing to have a direct payment; and

6. able to manage a direct payment (alone or with assistance).
   
   However even if you fit within these national rules, it is not mandatory for social services to make direct payments. The Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996, merely gives local authorities the power to make direct payments. Some authorities have not started any schemes since the power came into force in April 1997. Others have run 'pilot' schemes for small numbers of people or set local criteria as to who can get a direct payment. The Government has stated that it will consider making it mandatory for all authorities to operate direct payment schemes.
   
   Direct payments have been available to younger people since April 1997. Since 1 February 2000 direct payments can be made in England to anyone over the age of 18 who is assessed as needing community care services, but in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland they are still restricted to those who are under 65 years. The National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly have their own timetables for changing legislation. The ability to receive direct payments will eventually be extended to all older people in the UK.
   
   Those living in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland can obtain specific information by contacting:
   Age Concern Scotland Leonard Small House, 113 Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 3DT
   Telephone: 0131 220 3345
   Age Concern Cymru 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9SD Tel: (029) 2037 1566
   Age Concern N.Ireland 3 Lower Crescent, Belfast, BT7 1NR Tel: 028 9024 5729
   
   If you are disabled you should be assessed by the council's social services department to see what community care services you need. If you need services the council can decide to offer you direct payments for you to buy the services yourself, if you wish to.
   
   The council should discuss with you all matters concerning direct payment so that you and the council are satisfied that receiving direct payment is what you wish and that you are capable of using the payments to secure the services you need. If the council decides to give you direct payments you are then responsible for using the money yourself. You can ask relatives or friends to help you secure the services you need. The council itself should be able to give you a lot of advice.
   You can use your direct payments for home help, shopping, certain aids and equipment and rehabilitation services. Direct payments can be made for you to buy certain services and leave some services still supplied by the council.
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   What you cannot use Direct Payments for:
   Permanent residential care is not covered by direct payments and for temporary residential care you should ask your council for advice.
   
   You cannot buy services from your local council.

You cannot use direct payments to pay a spouse / partner or close relative living in the same household, or close relatives living elsewhere, or other people living in the same household. The reason behind this is that services purchased with direct payments should be based on a business relationship rather than a personal one. The council has some discretion on this rule in exceptional circumstances. (Close relative means: parent, parent-in-law, aunt, uncle, grandparent, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, or the spouse / partner of any of these.)

Occasionally, it might be agreed that part of the direct payment be used to pay for help in managing the payment. The exclusions about close relatives etc, as above, would apply.

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The direct payments may be made with monies included for equipment and adaptations to your home, be sure you are clear on exactly what the council is paying you the direct payment for. You should still be able to apply for a disabled facilities grant and the direct payments should not be for items you should receive free from the NHS.

It is essential that you receive  assistance in managing direct payments, as you may be unaware of your responsibilities. It would be a good idea to see if there were any local groups near to you with experience of managing direct payments, your council may know of such groups.

There are employment and insurance issues if you intend to employ personal assistants, and will need some knowledge of recruitment, tax and national insurance, sickness and holiday pay, health and safety.

You and the council must agree exactly what the payments are expected to cover: for instance, the cost of advertising, training, meeting sick pay, illness and emergency cover. You should also agree arrangements for emergency or back-up cover, and for providing the information the council will need for audit purposes.

 The council  decide the amount of the direct payments and what they are intended to cover. If they can provide a cheaper alternative to a direct payment they may decide not to award you that payment.
If you are refused a direct payment on the grounds that it is considered that you could not manage, the reasons should be explained to you. You could use the local authority complaints procedure  to challenge the decision.

Further Information:

Enable Payroll - A national payroll and employment advisory support service. They provide a specialised service for users of direct payments or anyone who employs a personal assistant or care assistant to work for them in their home.
Clients are offered unlimited advice and information, with comprehensive employment law support which compliments a professional payroll service.

125 Queens Road
Brighton BN1 3WB
Tel: 01273 322 219
Fax: 01273 322 229


Email: apritchard@enable.ltd.uk
Web:http://www.enable-payroll.co.uk

Age Concern Information Line ACIL, Astral House, 1268 London Road, LONDON SW16 4ER. Tel: 0800 009966

Carers National Association, 20/25 Glasshouse Yard, London EC1A 4JS. Please write with any enquiries to their Helpline. Gives general help and advice for all carers.

Disabled Living Centres Council, Redbank House, 4 St Chad Street, Manchester M8 8QA. Tel: 0161 834 1044. Has information about Disabled Living Centres in the UK.

Disablement Income Group PO Box 5743, Finchingfield, CM7 4PW. Tel: 01371 811621. Fax: 01371 811 633. Works to improve the financial circumstances of disabled people through advice, information, research and training.

National Centre for Independent Living, 250 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5RD. Tel: 020 7587 1663. Fax: 020 7582 2469. An organisation run by and for disabled people. It provides information on direct payments and personal assistance, including a checklist of employment condition, plus a regular newsletter (free to individuals) Personal Assistance Users News. It also offers consultancy to local authorities on setting up direct payment schemes; co-ordinates a national network of support schemes; and campaigns to remove obstacles to independent living.

New Employers' Helpline - 0845 6070143. Provides information to those considering becoming an employer.

Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR), 12 City Forum, 250 City Road, London EC1V 8AF. Tel: 020 7250 3222. Textphone: 020 7250 4119 weekdays 10am – 4pm. Provides information on access, housing, holidays, mobility, education, employment benefits and social service provision.

United Kingdom Home Care Association (UKHCA), 42b Banstead Road, Carshalton Beeches, Surrey SM5 3NW. Helpline: 020 8288 1551. An association of providers of care at home, with a code of practice. Lists are available of member agencies and others in the UK. Also, information packs for individuals contracting with independent care agencies.

Further reading:

A Guide to receiving Direct Payments. Available free from Department of Health, PO Box 777, London SE1 6XH. Fax: 01623 724524.

Cashing in on independence. Price £2.00. Available from British Council of Organisations of Disabled People (BCODP), Litchurch Plaza, Litchurch Lane, Derby DE24 8AA. Tel: 01332 295551.

Community Care (Direct Payments) Policy and Practice Guide available free from Department of Health, PO Box 777, London SE1 6XH. Fax: 01623 724524.

Controlling your own personal assistance scheme. British Council of Organisations of Disabled People (BCODP). Available free only to disabled persons and local groups for the disabled on receipt of a 55p sae; price £2 for individuals and organisations, from National Centre for Independent Living, 250 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5RD. Tel: 020 7587 1663. Fax: 020 7582 2469.

Direct routes to independence: a guide to local authority implementation and management of direct payments. Policy Studies Institute. Price £10 (plus £3 p&p). Available from Grantham Book Services, Isaac Newton Way, Alma Park Industrial Estate, Grantham, Lincs NG31 9SD. Tel: 01476 5410028.

DTI Small firms publications series listed in Publications in print catalogue. Tel: 0870 1502500 (order line).

Employed or self-employed? A guide to tax and national insurance. (Ref: IR56/N139). Available free from all local tax offices.

Framework contract between domiciliary care provider and service user. 1998. Available free from Continuing Care Conference, c/o Central Lobby Consultants, 12 Little College Street, London SW1P 3SH. Tel: 020 7222 1265. Fax: 020 7222 1250.

Personal assistant employer's handbook. Price £10.00 only for disabled persons and organisations for the disabled; £20.00 for all others (plus £3.50 p&p per order). Available from West of England Centre for Integrated Living, Leinster Avenue, Knowle, Bristol BS4 1AR. Tel: 0117 903 8900. Fax: 0117 983 6765.

Recruiting and employing a care worker. Price £3.50. Available from The Disablement Income Group, PO Box 5743, Finchingfield, CM7 4PW. Tel 01371 811621. Fax: 01371 811633.