Bath & North East Somerset Council is one of 13 local authorities taking part in a pilot offering Individual Budgets – a new way of providing assistance to people who are eligible for a service from Social Services.   If it is successful, it is hoped that all local authorities will start offering Individual Budgets.

What are the benefits of Individual Budgets?

An Individual Budget allows you to have more control over the way your support is organised.  You have a bigger choice of organisations and individuals who you can ask to support you.  You can also have more say over exactly what they do and when they do it.

How do Individual Budgets work?

Firstly, you will need to have an assessment by a social worker/care manager, who will help you identify your eligible needs.  Once this assessment is complete, they will tell you how much money you are entitled to a year.

You will then be asked to write a ‘support plan’ to say how you will use the money.  The support plan needs to be agreed by the local authority before it can start..

Can I have help in planning how to spend my Budget?

Yes.  You can complete your support plan on your own, but it may be useful to ask someone else for help.  This could be a friend, a member of your family or another person or group of people you trust.  Alternatively, you can ask your Care Manager to help you.

The support plan can be quite short and simple and you will be given advice about what needs to be in it.

Do I need to make a financial contribution?

Yes.  you will be asked to make an assessed financial contribution towards your Individual Budget.

What can I spend my money on?

Your assessment will tell you what your eligible needs are.  You can use the money on anything that helps you to meet these needs.

Your plan must ensure that you stay safe and well.   Provided this is the case, you can be creative with how you use your money and try to make the most of it. 

Once your Plan is agreed, you must only use the money to pay for things that are in it.  If you want o make significant changes, you should contact your Care Manager.

These are a few examples of some of the ways you could spend your Individual Budget:

• employing support workers or personal assistants:  these can be friends or members of your family but you are not allowed to employ a close family member if that person also lives with you
• buying services from an agency or organisation
• paying expenses for unpaid helpers
• buying specialist equipment
• paying holiday or other expenses for someone assisting you in order to give your Carer a break

There are some things you cannot spend your budget on.  For example:

• funding for permanent institutional care (e.g. care in a hospital or nursing home or residential care home)
• paying someone who may place you at risk of harm, abuse or lack of care
• paying for services directly provided by the Local Authority.  Instead the local authority will reduce the funding you receive by an agreed amount for the services that you receive directly from them.

If you are in doubt about whether something is appropriate, then talk to your local authority about it.

Who will arrange and pay for the help or support that I need?

There are three ways of organising and paying for your assistance and support:

a)  Direct Payment

If you want to manage your support yourself, you can receive the money as a Direct Payment.  You will then be responsible for paying and organising the people who are assisting you.  You will need to open a separate bank account.

b)  Using an Agent

If you do not want the responsibility of managing your own support, you can arrange for someone else to be paid your Budget and to manage it on your behalf.  This can be a family member, friend or group of friends.  There are also a number of independent organisations (sometimes known as ‘service brokers’) who can act for you in this way.

c)  Support organised by Social Services

You can ask Social Services to organise your support for you.  However, Social Services can only organise support from their ‘in-house’ services or from organisations and agencies they have contracts with.  The choice of organisation you can use is therefore more limited.  Social Services cannot employ individuals on your behalf.

How will you check what I have been spending?

If you are paying for your own support, you or your representative need every 3 months to send Social Services copies of the bank statements from you Individual Budget bank account.   You must keep copies of all receipts, invoices, payslips and other paperwork.  Social Services may ask to see these at tany time.

A social worker/care manager will also visit periodically to review how your needs are being met.

If the amount of help or support I need changes, will my Budget change?

If your needs increase, you will need to ask for a re-assessment to see if you are eligible for more money.   If your needs decrease, you should inform the local authority, as you may then be eligible for less money.

Will this money affect my personal income?

Your allocated Budget is to pay for the assistance and support that you need.  It is not personal income and you should not declare it for tax or benefit purposes as income.

What if I do not spend all the money in my Budget?

You do not have to use all the money in your Budget.  Social Services will only give you the money you need for your support plan.  if your needs then increase, you should ask for a review of your plan.

If I have an Individual Budget, what happens when the pilot ends?

The hope is that the pilot will be a success and that those people receiving an Individual Budget will be able to continue to do so.   However, if this is not the case, the local authority will work with you to try to maintain your support plan using Direct or Indirect payments.

Where can I find out more information?

You can find out more about Individual Budgets by contacting Claire Cope, Project Manager, on 01225 477045.