Personal Budgets

If you feel that you need some help or support at home, you can contact your local Social Services for assistance. 

They may suggest a period of reablement or rehabilitation at home, in the first instance to see if they can improve your independence so that you do not need support from the council. 

If you are not suitable for reablement or rehabilitation then your local council will carry out an assessment of your support needs. This may involve a Social Worker visiting you at home and asking questions about how you are currently managing and what support you currently have. The worker will also ask you about what things you are finding difficult to manage. 

They will write all the information they gather in a document which is often called an assessment document. They will give you a copy of this and you will have a chance to read it and make any changes to it if you think it is wrong or if you feel it did not capture your situation correctly. 

After your assessment, they will be able to tell you if you are eligible for services and if so what your Personal Budget is. 

They will then work with you to look at how to spend your Personal Budget and what goals or outcomes you would like to achieve. You may wish to become more mobile, or to be able to go out and socialise more. Whatever goals you decide on, the Social Worker will write them in a document known as a Care and Support Plan. You will be given a copy of this for your records. When your care is reviewed they will use your Care and Support Plan as a starting point to check your care is meeting your needs. 

You may choose to take your Personal Budget as a Direct Payment. A Direct Payment is money paid directly to you by the Council for you to arrange and purchase your own care, based on your assessed care and support needs, rather than the Council buy it for you. This allows you to have more choice and control over how your care needs are met, so that services you receive are those you have chosen yourself to help you achieve the things that are important to you. More information can be found here.