Direct Payments Household Memembers

Benefits, finances and funding
1

Hi everyone,

So after years of being messed around by care agencies, my next door neighbour is being moved to a direct payment so he can control his own carers.

He’d really like to employ his son, who’s been acting as an unpaid carer since childhood. However, the son has some health issues of his own so moving out isn’t going to be so easy and it might not even be worth his while to do so. (I generally think it’s an all round bad idea to go down the direct payment route anyway, but that’s another thread.)

I know from past experience with a caree and her daughter, that most local authorities won’t even consider paying a member of the same household to care for someone, but out of curiosity I’m wondering if anyone here actually knows what “exceptional circumstances” means in the real world?

I know religious grounds count for quite a lot, but what else? Does anyone even know of a family member being paid by direct payments while living under the same roof?

It seems “exceptional circumstances” is extremely vague, on purpose to allow local authorities to make rules up as they go along, and to get away with not paying unpaid carers, but I’d love to know if anyone has any idea under what kind of circumstances they approve this kind of thing.

Take care all x

2

The Care Act also says the client should be able to choose who they want “including friends and family”.

3

Yes, it seems the exceptional circumstances umbrella is just a get out of jail free card to help local authorities dodge paying unpaid family carers.

I mean, hell, can you imagine them accurately assessing and providing for the needs unpaid family members cover? 24 hour a day support, or at very least on call for 24 hours…I’m sure it’d bankrupt most councils to pay for the services carers in the same household actually provide.

4

It’s a term carried forward from the pre 2014 Care Act changes, but councils seem to want to use it still (to their own advantage!)