Direct Payments Financial Assessment

[Dawn17]

I am a full time carer for my dh who has psychosis and other mental health issues. We own our own (tiny) home outright, but have no savings at all and survive entirely off benefits. He is in receipt of PIP, ESA Support group, UC and I get Carers allowance. He has been receiving help from a support worker provided by the local council but his social worker has today told me that I will be contacted by their finance department for a financial assessment for his eligibility to receive direct payments. The idea is that we can employ an agency to provide support workers to help with his care eventually. However, they have said that, following the financial assessment, we might be asked to contribute towards this care package. I am extremely concerned as we hardly have any spare money as it is. Can anyone please tell me what is the financial criteria for not having to/having to contribute to a direct payments care package?

Anyone, please?

It's a means test to see if he can afford to contribute to a care package arranged by the council. The care can be agency carers or a direct payment. It's only based on his income. They take into account the expenses you have at home, to an extent. You can ask for an estimate before you agree to anything. The way they work it out is a bit complicated, there's a factsheet here:Moneyhelper factsheet

You might not have to pay anything, wait to see what the financial assessment outcome is

Direct payments and a financial assessment for care are two different things. A financial assessment is to see whether you have to contribute towards care (direct payment or provided by council). Direct Payments is where the council give you money but you organise and pay for the care yourself. This can give you more control and choice but can also add more complication. For example, you often become an employer with all that entails. I wouldn't take that on unless it's something you really want and it shouldn't be compulsory.

Shelter can provide advice about care if you wanted some further advice. Age U.K. and Carers UK should be able to advise also.

Thank you both so much for the replies.

I would say when a Direct Payment does work well, it is brilliant, e.g if you know someone you want to employ, it gives you more autonomy, but it can be complicated, depends how your local authority runs them, there are pro's and con's.

And ask for a Carers Assessment for yourself, my local authority gives money to carers towards something that gives them a break/makes life easier. Carers grants

I think what they mean is that say for example they allow £14 an hour for care, you might not be able to get a carer for £14 an hour and if you find a carer you like that charges £20 an hour you'd have to pay the difference.

As a self employed carer I just wanted to warn you not many self employed carers take less than £20. As someone upthread said, it works best if you already have someone in mind to employ.

Disability Justice have a really helpful overview of financial assessments including how to challenge your assessed contribution if you think it’s too high. This might involve asking the LA to consider disability related expenses.
https://www.disabilityjustice.org.uk/financial-assessment/

All councils have different criteria but the basics are the same.

You have a Social Care assessment and they agree that you should have eg 100 hours support pw. In our council their hourly rate is £17.41ph so our Direct Payments budget would be 100 hours x £17.41.

The financial assessment looks at your income from all unearned sources including benefits. They look at all allowable expenses eg rent, certain disability related expenditure, some bills.

They deduct allowable expenses from the income. They also allow you to have MIG (minimum income guarantee) which is currently approx £145pw

Earned income and mobility PIP are excluded so you can keep that.

Any unearned income left over after deducting your expenses and the MIG can be taken by the LA as a contribution to the carer costs.

So basically after bills they leave you with just the MIG to live on. It's brutal.

As a separate issue, as per previous posters, you may find that their hourly rate isn't enough to pay for a carer, which is a further headache I'm afraid.

With regards the mental health issues, has your partner ever been sectioned? Some people qualify for free care under section 117, the Mind website has a useful guide.

Thanks everyone for the replies. My dh has never been sectioned, I realise this would make a difference to the financial assessment if he had been. He's been with the psychosis team for 3 years and is now under the local community mental health team. He's been assessed by social services and they assessed him as needed about £300 worth of care? It was all added up at the end of the assessment. They've recommended a local care agency who charge from £16 per hour so I thought this would be covered by the £300, as he won't have anything like that amount of care, probably just a few hours a week. I have a financial assessment booked for Monday so I'll see what they say. Thanks again for all the replies.

Just a note, our LA doesn't allow you to reduce support hours to cover the 'top up', they will fund, for example, for 30 hours, and expect you to use the 30 hours. If the 30 hours are not being used, the funding may be reduced.

@BriansGotHisWinkyOutAgain Ah, that's interesting, I didn't know that! I had wondered why, if we weren't going to use all the £300 up, why I still might have to make a contribution, but that explains it, so thank you.

No problem, I actually work for direct payments so feel free to PM me if you need to