Direct Payments Same Household

Finefoot

Prepare 3 months of bank statements as well as an income and expenditure.

Icequeen99

whambam wrote: »

After applying for direct payments and my brother on a waiting list for 6 weeks they have set up an appointment to assess if we qualify for direct payments!

Anyone been through this home visit assessment any advice its next Tuesday.

Which part of the assessment is this - is this the care needs assessment to see how many hours of care he needs or has that been done and agreed and this is the financial assessment.

In my area the two things are carried out entirely separately and I believe that is the case for most areas. They establish need first and then look at what you have to contribute.

IQ

whambam

care needs assessment is their a limit on the number of hours you can care for? Obviously there is a average budget to work towards.

Do direct payments have to get made directly into the disabled persons bank account or can it be the carer's.

Why do you have to show last 3 months bank statements?

nannytone_2

im not aware of any 'maximum hours' limit, though i do think you are being over confident in your expectations of what may be awarded.
there is no average budget and everyone is assessed for their specific needs.

most councils insist on a dedicated account for the direct payments to be paid into. a very good idea because there can be no mixing of money that way

Icequeen99

whambam wrote: »

care needs assessment is their a limit on the number of hours you can care for? Obviously there is a average budget to work towards.

Do direct payments have to get made directly into the disabled persons bank account or can it be the carer's.

Why do you have to show last 3 months bank statements?

In our area, they limit the support you can get to equivalent to the residential care rate, so maximum of £466 a week. Then you are assessed for your contribution towards that.

They don't look at this stage who is doing the caring - this is just a pure assessment of how many hours care does the person need to meet their assessed needs.

How their needs may be assessed may be subject to some discussion -for example you may feel the person needs someone there to stay on a night but the Council might think that need could be met with a call alarm. They will, because of resources, consider all options.

Once they have set the hours, then the financial assessment will take place.

There needs to be a dedicated bank account that the direct payments are paid into. They are never paid directly to the carer - as the payroll needs to be done properly. In our area you can opt for a payment card (like a debit card).

IQ

whambam

Had the direct payment guy in from the council said it was illegal to get direct payments from someone in the same household. Also, stated you require 2 medical reports from the doctor and a psychiatrist and these to be presented to the sheriff officer through a lawyer in order for a guardianship order! costs £300 max takes 2-3 months.

But, its not your decision to get guardianship its the doctors and sheriff's opinion!

Icequeen99

whambam wrote: »

Had the direct payment guy in from the council said it was illegal to get direct payments from someone in the same household. Also, stated you require 2 medical reports from the doctor and a psychiatrist and these to be presented to the sheriff officer through a lawyer in order for a guardianship order! costs £300 max takes 2-3 months.

But, its not your decision to get guardianship its the doctors and sheriff's opinion!

It sounds like you are in Scotland. I can't help with the Guardianship order part of it but the Council worker is incorrect about direct payments and family members.

The legal position is explained in the statutory guidance http://www.selfdirectedsupportscotland.org.uk/document-library/guidance/1485-sds-statutory-guidance-april-2014 (updated in May 16)

It is Section 11.8 onwards which explains that the Authority have discretion to allow it, but it is only in very specific circumstances.

Who is it that you want to employ? Reading your initial post back again I can't see how that will save you the £200. I have just moved over from using agency carers to private carers but the monthly contribution we have to make stays the same, it just means we can get more care hours for the same amount of money (only slightly more once you allow for all of the extra costs of employment)

IQ

whambam

Well, he mentioned that the budget stays the same as last year however the private care company are not increasing their wages from £11.25 to £14.25 per hour which only gives my brother 11 hours so he needs info/evidence from me to keep his hours at 14 as it will be detrimental to his health.

Oh, they say health is separate from social issues!

No, one can get direct payments in the same household and that's a fact and he said people on websites and youtube videos telling you direct payments changed their life are talking nonsense.

Icequeen99

I'm not sure I can help much more. He is wrong and I have given you the link to support that so you can challenge it.

IQ

Cyclamen

whambam wrote: »

No, one can get direct payments in the same household and that's a fact and he said people on websites and youtube videos telling you direct payments changed their life are talking nonsense.

I am sorry but if you are in England you are being lied to. I know of a number of people who have some of there care hours paid to a parent /spouse/offspring who live with them via direct payments.

My agency has tow rates for customers a public rate that those who self fund pay and a direct payment rate that exactly matches what the council pay. The direct payment rate is lower, but if you don't mention it they charge you the higher rate. Doesn't seem fair on self funders but i cant afford t top up each hour by almost five pounds.