What is a direct payment?

What is a direct payment?

A direct payment is one of the ways you can choose to receive your personal budget.

With direct payments, you can choose and arrange your own care and support services, instead of us arranging it for you.

This gives you more choice, control and flexibility over how you organise, purchase, and manage your care and support. For example:

• Choose who provides your care.
• Schedule your carer's visits at times that work best for you.
• Carry over any unused care hours for future use.
• Save community access hours to plan a special outing.

If you have been assessed by the Children with Disabilities team or Adult Social Care as having care needs, you will have a personal budget as part of your support plan. 

These pages show you how to use your Direct Payment and get the funds.

For an easy read version of this information, please see our Easy Read guide.