You can receive some or full support to help you to manage direct payments or personal budgets. You may also need to think about how management tasks can be made accessible for you - for example, making sure associated paperwork is in your preferred format.

Accountability

Accountability for your direct payments or personal budget means letting the council know how you spend the public money that has been allocated to you. If you decide to take responsibility for buying services, you will need to tell social services how you intend to spend the money and how this will meet your needs. Councils will ask for this in different ways.

You will probably need to make financial returns to your council. This means keeping paper records of how your direct payments are spent. Councils will also request this in different ways; they may ask for weekly, monthly, quarterly or half-yearly returns. Some councils may just ask to see bank statements for the relevant bank account. 

Sense has produced a more accessible sample spreadsheet for a summary and record of income and expenditure.  Download the sample spreadsheet (excel, 47kb).

Management tasks: the different options for support

You should be clear about what you are happy to take on, the support you think you might need, and anything you would like to delegate to others. There are various ways to receive support:

• Your local direct payments support services
• Independent living centres
• National payroll services
• Staff who support you already may also be able to support with managing direct payments (you should ask your council if you can receive additional hours to pay for this)
• A 'nominee' or trustees of a trust can manage funding, bank accounts and employ staff on behalf of someone. For more information, see our page on Direct payments: mental capacity.

Here are some examples of the areas you may want support in:

• Advertising and interviewing staff
• Writing contracts
• Advice on supervising and managing staff
• Providing timesheets for staff
• Managing employees' pay, including income tax and National Insurance payments

Bank accounts

You will need to open a separate bank account to be able to receive ongoing direct payments. If you receive one-off direct payments only (for example, for equipment) you shouldn't have to open a separate bank account. If you receive direct payments from two different social services teams, you should still only have to open one account for your direct payments.

For example, if a person receives direct payments from both the sensory team and the mental health team, they should only have to open one account for their direct payments. However, they may have to be careful to document their spending clearly so that their council can see how their direct payments have been spent to meet the two different kinds of need.

The timing of council payments

Councils pay out direct payments in different ways. You may receive monthly, quarterly or yearly payments. These payments should be sufficiently frequent to enable you to pay on time for the services you use.

Spending direct payments or your personal budget

The timings for how you spend your money should not be rigidly fixed in advance. The Department of Health Guidance states that councils should allow for flexibility on how individuals spend their direct payments. However, councils should look into unspent direct payments at the end of the financial year (March).

If money is unspent at the end of the year, your council may ask you to return it. Councils should be aware that individuals may have not spent all the money for valid reasons. An example of this might be that given that it is hard to find staff with the right skills to support deafblind people, it may be that you are unable to spend all of your direct payments. It should be possible to roll over any unspent money into the next month or quarter of the same year.

What are direct payments support services?

Your local council should have set up or funded local support services for people who use direct payments or who would like to find out more about using direct payments. Ask your council what support you can receive locally. The National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL) also has an online directory of local direct payments support services and independent living centres. Direct payments support services can give you support with a range of issues. There may be charges for some services; you should make sure your direct payments or personal budget covers these costs.

For more information, see Direct payments: receiving the right amount of money.

Payroll services

There are both local and national organisations and private companies that provide payroll services to direct payments users. If you prefer, you could use a payroll service but still maintain control of actually paying through cheque, direct debit or a transfer.

Making managing direct payments accessible

You should think about any access requirements you have and ask your council and local direct payments support service about making management accessible. You will need to be clear with your council about any issues you might have in accessing paperwork associated with managing your own support. Councils have a duty to provide information and forms in an accessible format. Councils may have difficulty if you need to send them paperwork in alternative formats. For example, you will need to ask councils if there are going to be difficulties about not being able to sign forms manually or paperwork being sent in via email rather than in print format.

Case study: making managing direct payments accessible

Abdul is a deafblind man; he uses braille, Deafblind Manual and email. He directly employs several staff through direct payments. He receives payroll support from his local direct payments support service. Abdul suggested ways to make direct payments management accessible to him. He communicates with the support service mainly via email but they also use Text Relay (formerly Typetalk).

At the end of the month, Abdul emails the support service with details of the hours that his staff have worked. The support service work out any deductions from pay (such as National Insurance and income tax) and email him to tell him how much he should pay the staff via cheque. They then send him pay slips to be given to staff. The envelope that the payslips are sent in has two staples in the corner so that he knows who the letter is from. The payslips themselves are labelled in braille so that he knows which staff to give them to.

Each quarter, the support service tells him how much he needs to pay on behalf of his employees in National Insurance and income tax. The service also fills in quarterly Inland Revenue paperwork. At the end of the year, the support service sends relevant information to the council so that they are aware of how the direct payments are being spent.

Abdul has taken on only some of the responsibilities of employing people; he has delegated some tasks to the support service. Control still remains with Abdul and confidentiality is maintained by using accessible labelling.

Independent Living Funds (ILF) funding and direct payments

The Independent Living Funds (ILF) is a national resource dedicated to providing financial support for disabled people, enabling them to live independently. ILF funding is different to direct payments funding. Some people will be able to receive both direct payments and ILF funding. If you think you might be able to receive both kinds of funding, you need to think about how this will work. You might be told that ILF and direct payments money will be given to you at different times in the year and spread over a different number of weeks. You may need to think about whether this timing will affect your ability to pay staff on time.

Some councils may say that they prefer that ILF funding does not go into the same account as your direct payments. This may be because they think they will have difficulty checking on how you are spending your direct payments. The ILF does not require you to have a separate account for its funding. It may be easier for you to have both direct payments and ILF funding going into the same account. You will need to ask your council about how to manage the two kinds of funding. You may need to explain why one account for both kinds would be much more manageable for you.

Case study: receiving both direct payments and ILF funding

John is a deafblind man who is assessed as needing services from his council. He decides to receive direct payments instead of a service. He has to open a separate bank account to be able to receive direct payments. John is also eligible for ILF funding. John would find it much easier if his direct payments and ILF money go into the same account. He asks his social worker if this is possible. After clearing it with management, the council approve this. John still has to remember that direct payment and ILF money goes into the account at different times.

National Health Service (NHS) continuing care funding

Continuing NHS healthcare and NHS-funded nursing care is provided over an extended period of time to meet physical or mental health needs that have arisen as a result of disability, an accident or illness. The care can be provided in a variety of settings including a hospital, nursing home, hospice or the patient's own home. Sometimes the needs of people who receive direct payments change and mean that the NHS rather than social services must meet their needs. This may mean that they can no longer receive direct payments because direct payments cannot be made by the NHS or used to pay for NHS services.

Case study: direct payments and NHS continuing care

Rita is a deafblind older woman who uses British Sign Language. She receives a direct payment to pay for a communicator guide service from an agency. In the last few years, Rita's health has deteriorated; she has considerable care needs and is developing dementia. She has had an NHS continuing care assessment to see whether it is the NHS who must now meet her needs. Following the assessment, it is the NHS, not Rita's council, who must now meet her needs. It is decided that the communicator guide that Rita uses is still the best way to meet her needs. Instead of this being paid for by her council via a direct payment, the NHS now pays the agency for the service.

Further information

Disability Rights UK
Post: 12 City Forum, 250 City Road, London EC1V 8AF
Tel: 0845 026 4748
Fax: 020 7247 8765
Email: independentliving@disabilityrightsuk.org
Web: www.disabilityrightsuk.org

Enable Payroll
Post: PO Box 988, Brighton BN1 3NT
Tel: 020 3137 4406
Fax: 01273 322 229
Email: info@enable-payroll.co.uk
Web: www.enable-payroll.co.uk

Independent Living Funds (ILF)
Post: PO Box 7525, Nottingham NG2 4ZT
Tel: 0845 601 8815
Textphone: 0845 601 8816
Fax: 0115 945 0942
Email: funds@ilf.org.uk
Web: www.dwp.gov.uk/ilf

Payroll Masters
Post: PO Box 12599, Birmingham B13 3BB
Tel: 0800 073 0039
Textphone: 18001 01827 700465
Email: info@accesspayroll.org.uk
Web: www.accesspayroll.org.uk

NHS continuing care
Post: The Department of Health, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS
Tel: 020 7210 4850
Textphone: 020 7210 5025
Web: www.dh.gov.uk

The Nationwide Payroll Company
Post: Earlstrees Court, Earlstrees Industrial Estate, Corby NN17 4AX
Tel: 01536 262 100
Fax: 01536 262 601
Email: info@directpaymentspayroll.co.uk
Web: www.directpaymentspayroll.co.uk

The Rowan Organisation
Post: Eliot Park Innovation Centre, Barling Way, Nuneaton CV10 7RH
Tel: 02476 322 860
Textphone: 02476 374 439
Information Service: 0845 608 8048
Textphone: 02476 374 439
Fax: 02476 374 948
Email: info@therowan.org
Web: www.therowan.org