Personal Budgets Explained

What is a personal budget?

Personalisation, also known as Self-Directed Support, is a way of working that gives people and their carers more control, choice and flexibility over how they plan and manage their social care support

If your elderly relative qualifies for social care services, then they can gain support in this way

See your GP  or talk to your council or social services to see if you qualify for a personal budget and they will direct you to the appropriate contact within the NHS

The personal budget concept is based on people knowing how much money is likely to be available to plan their support at an early stage

It puts people at the centre of planning how they want their own support to work and makes it possible to be creative in finding ways to gain support using a Personal Budget to fund it

Personal Budgets are available in addition to any money that your ageing parent may receive, or qualify for, such as Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or other benefits

Depending on their income, they may need to contribute additionally to the cost of their support

How to get a personal budget

The council will need to check that your ageing parent qualifies for adult social services under the governments’ fair access to care guidelines

If they qualify, then they will need to have an assessment to establish what sort of help and support they need

Your elderly parent can do the assessment on your own, or get someone to help them with it, for example a family member, friend, or a social worker

This would include looking at ten types of assistive technology you will need around the home to manage their particular situation

Following this, you parent will be told of the likely amount of money available to fund their support

Knowing the likely budget, they can then develop a support plan,  on their own, or with the help of family, friends, GP, social services or others

What might be in the personal budget plan?

In the plan your ageing parent would set out the sorts of support and things they want to do, in order to have quality of care at home

Once the plan is agreed, your parent will receive their Personal Budget

Pieces of equipment, or minor adaptations to their home, form a key part of the ‘reablement process’ and can make their life easier

Community equipment is the term given to pieces of equipment that helps a person with aspects of daily living.

Examples are:

• Furniture and raisers
• Bedroom products
• Bathing equipment
• Toileting
• Mobility
• Household
• Lifting and handling
• Pressure area care
• Sensory equipment
• Minor adaptations – grab rails and banister rails

How would your parent receive their personal budget?

This is done by a Direct Payment and how this is done is controlled by the Direct Payments Regulations and the local Direct Payments policy

The Personal Budget can be taken as cash (a Direct Payment), or the council can manage it

There are controls built in to ensure that people spend their money in agreed ways and provide information about this on a regular basis and do not accumulate unspent funds
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Richard Jones,Lancashire County Council, talks about personal budget roll-out

If you have any questions relating to personal budgets, or worries relating to finance, share  them on our forum