If you're eligible to receive help from Social Services, the normal
route is for your Social Worker (or Care Manager) to
put services in place for you. However you may want to
have more control over the services you recieve, Direct Payments
and Individual Budgets offer you this choice.
Direct Payments
Direct Payments are cash payments made to individuals who are
eligible to receive help from Social Services.
The government are keen for local councils to extend their
Direct Payments schemes. In April 2003, the Government made it a
duty for councils to offer direct payments to all those who are
eligible.
Most people who receive direct payments find that they have far
greater choice, control and flexibility over the services they
receive.
More Direct Payments information.
Individual Budgets
Bath and North East Somerset are one of 13 local authorities to
be running a pilot scheme aimed at giving service users greater
choice and control over the services they receive.
Currently, service users are randomly selected to be offered an
Individual Budget. However the Council are planning to roll
this out more widely in the near future.
More Individual Budgets information.
