A direct payment is money your council pays you so you can arrange your own care. You can use a direct payment to pay Helping at Home. If the council’s rate is below ours, you can top up the difference privately.
How direct payments differ from a council-arranged package
If you’re eligible for funded care, your council offers you a choice.
With council-arranged care, the council picks a provider from its approved list and agrees the care plan with them. You pay your assessed contribution back to the council.
With a direct payment, the council turns the care your assessment says you need into a weekly budget and pays it to you. You then pay a provider yourself. You get more say over who comes and when, and more admin.
What you can spend a direct payment on
In Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, a direct payment can pay for:
- A regulated home care provider like Helping at Home
- A directly employed personal assistant
- Equipment or services agreed in your care plan
- Short breaks or other support that meets your assessed needs
You cannot usually use it to pay a family member who lives with you, unless the council agrees there are exceptional reasons. You cannot use it for things that aren’t in your care plan.
Setting one up
The process runs through your social worker after your needs and financial assessments are complete:
- Your needs assessment confirms you’re eligible for funded care.
- Your financial assessment sets your contribution (which may be zero).
- Your social worker agrees a personal budget with you, expressed as a weekly amount.
- You decide between a direct payment, council-arranged care, or a mix.
- If you choose a direct payment, you open a separate bank account for it.
- The council pays into that account on a regular schedule.
- You pay your provider (or personal assistant) from it.
If you use a regulated provider like us, we invoice the direct payment account, so there is no payroll for you to run.
Topping up
The local authority rate in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire is typically £18 to £25 per hour for non-residential care. Helping at Home’s standard rate is £31 per hour. To use us, you have two options:
- Use your direct payment with us for fewer hours than the council assessed. This is possible, but means less care than your plan said you needed.
- Top up the gap. Your direct payment covers the council rate and you pay us the difference. Most families choose this, because the assessed hours are usually what’s needed.
How we work with direct payments
You sign a service agreement with us at our standard hourly rate. We invoice you (or your direct payment account) weekly or monthly. Your direct payment pays the council-rate portion and you pay the top-up. We can also talk to your social worker, support service or appointed representative.
Your care plan is built and reviewed as for a self-funder. It draws on your council assessment and what you and your family tell us.
What if circumstances change
The council reviews direct payments, usually once a year, or sooner if things change. We can support the conversation with your social worker. If your assessed needs go up, your direct payment usually goes up to match. If your savings or income change, your contribution may change. Neither has to mean a change of provider.
What to do next
To talk through how a direct payment would work with Helping at Home, or whether it suits your family, call 01636 646915.
