Hi been lurking for a while, I am an appointee (14 years) for my brother with severe learning disabilitys, he has been in a Care Home for nearly 4 years, all well paid his fees gave him his money. But now all of a sudden they have decided he needs a debit card as a lot of places do not accept cash, and his key worker is iinsisting she takes him to the bank and opens an account for him and sets it up on her phone. Needs ID Passport (never been abroad) Driving Licence( 
) or birth certificate. I donāt like the sound of this could be open to misuse. Any idea what I should do?
Contact the carers helpline or citizen advice for help as this could open up a can of worms for the wrong reasons than good.
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All wrong! What sort of things do they want to pay for? I have had bad experiences of spending issues!
Iām with @Michael_1910123 on this - contact the helpline:
Our telephone Helpline is available on 0808 808 7777 from Monday to Friday, 9am ā 6pm (excluding Bank Holidays) or you can contact us by email (advice@carersuk.org). If you have a general enquiry, please email info@carersuk.org
Iād recommend an email for this one. They can go into a bit more detail.
Thanks everyone will take your advice and email 
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I know a young woman (not my daughter this time!) who had her account cleared out by an employee of the home she lives in.
I also know another woman who had terrible trouble after a careworker took care of her finances, telling her how she should spend her money, not allowing her to buy stuff etc.
Have a look at Go Henry cards. Although they donāt publicise them, they have a special scheme for adults with learning difficulties.
I smell a very large rat here. A few years ago a care home was made to repay a whopping Ā£65,000 for money the carers spent on themselves, not the client. My son had the same auditors, they wrongly spent Ā£2,500 in 10 months. As my son was in supported living, he needed money to buy his food, but in your situation, staff should need very little money. I think the government figure for all personal expenditure is Ā£25-Ā£30. Admission to most places can be either free or subsidised, carer goes free. Are you aware of CEA cards? I pay for a National Trust card for my son, again, carer goes free. Many preserved railways do significant reductions. My first question would be "what do you want to spend the money on, in an average week. If someone buys a meal out, there should be an agreed procedure. The home should have a prospectus/handbook saying what is and what is not covered by the fees. Have you seen one? Is it updated regularly? It might be worth talking to CQC about any concerns. At his residential college, and a residential home, I was asked to hand over all his mobility component as āwe need his money to run our mini busesā! Wrong. Fortunately, my best friend used to work for DWP at a senior level, so if I had any queries, I just had a chat with her.
Hi yes the problem started at a theatre venue which did not accept cash, when they took him to a pantomime. I would have thought the tickets would have been bought online in advance and as a group booking. He wanted refreshments again no cash accepted, he couldnāt understand this and got in a tantrum (which I fully understand, as he acts like a two year old. (I have had it in the middle of a supermarket) Anyway I have spoken to Carer and Manager, and told them it isnāt going to happen and also Head office and arranged for his money Ā£25.00 to be paid to them so it is on an account for him and the home has to tell them what it is spent on. I wlll see how that works. Also if it is somewhere not accepting cash they often do gift vouchers which I could buy for him beforehand. Thanks for your help I havenāt slept for nights thought problems had stopped but you never stop worrying . I am also looking into deputyship but it looks complicated.
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That is really, really poor planning on the part of the home. If they were taking vulnerable adults to the theatre then surely the tickets were booked in advance and a budget set for drinks. They KNEW before he went that heād want a drink. They should have arranged for everyone to have one and made a block payment!!! Iād go to the management and politely ask for more details of their events planning. Their stupidity upset the man concerned, so defeated the whole object of the trip! Is there a parentās group or similar for the home? If there isnāt, what do they want to hide???
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I am glad it is getting sorted. But I think going to a place where cash is not being taken, is a bit odd. I know since covid some place have opted for no cash but the venue would have some way of taking cash as many parents would not let a kid lose with their card. If the home buy things on his behalf, then as copies of invoices and receipts as it a good way to check on his bank account statement if it goes mad but also the bank can alert you if odd spending goes on.
When my mum was in a nursing home, the home didnāt want anyone to use cash, to avoid any theft issues. So mum had an account and the home invoiced me every month. I had Power of Attorney. For those with learning difficulties, who lack mental capacity, a similar system would work well. the same system could work well.