Direct Payment Whats Allowed?

Benefits, finances and funding
1

Can anyone add to this list is my understand on what you can use DP for?

What direct payments are used for?

Personal Support – employing a personal care assistance, support worker, carer related or non-related, cleaner, gardener, transport costs (petrol), taxi, looking after a pet, respite care (time off), travel abroad with carers, household duties, sleepover support, meals delivered, 4 weeks residential accommodation every 12 months.

Social Life – Joining a leisure club, assisted shopping, assisted event attendance, buying an annual sports season ticket, buying a computer laptop for learning English, sky TV subscription, assisted being a good neighbour (personal support), joining a lunch club, plot of land (allotment to grow vegetables or build), card/cake making small business.

Employment – Training for work, set up a small business (employing staff),

Learning – Studying for an national qualification svq, distance learning online, travel training, attend uni/college, job learning,

Citizenship – Becoming a local member of community council, getting involved in a political campaign, support to become an MP,

2

Pipsy,

its my understanding that the DP must be spent on meeting the needs identified in the Needs assessment. Therefore, as BB said on a previous thread, you need to check with social services about what you can spend the money on.

Melly1

3

We currently have a student social worker involved and she thinks she knows it all. She is trying to tell me what to do and what my daughter can and can’t have from her Direct payments. i have been so stressed in recent weeks that I haven’t the strength to argue with her but I will do as soon as I feel better.

4

Penny, I have read in Ombudsman’s reports that as long as the care need identified in the Needs Assessment is being met in some way, Social Services should be happy.
I can’t remember the exact words just now, they’ll come back to me presently!

5

In my understanding if the local authority decided someone is entitled to community care services, he/she can probably be able to choose to receive payments instead of the services.