How a Direct payment works

When you undertake a financial assessment this will determine if you are eligible for any financial assistance from us and how much you will have to pay – we call this your assessed charge.

We will pay you the amount of any eligible financial assistance into your direct payment or prepayment card account.

You are also required to pay your assessed charge amount into your direct payment or prepayment card account.

The total of the amount of financial assistance and your assessed charge make up the total of your personal budget.

These must either be paid into a prepayment card account or into a separate bank account that is only used for your direct payment budget.

When will I receive my DP?

Your Direct Payment will be paid every 4-weeks in advance, in line with our payment schedule. You will receive a copy of this at the start of your Direct Payment.

If I pay an assessed charge towards the cost of my care services and I’m receiving a direct payment, will I get an invoice?

If you are in receipt of a direct payment and do not receive any other care services from us, you would not be sent an invoice for your charge towards your care. You will pay your care provider directly from your direct payment account. You are expected to pay your assessed charge directly into your direct payment account which will be monitored through regular audit reviews.

We will notify you if we notice that you have not paid your assessed charge into the direct payment account and advise you how much you need to pay to bring your account up to date. Should you continue to not pay your assessed charge we will issue you with an invoice for the amount due and if this not paid by the due date or a repayment arrangement is not reached, recovery procedures will commence in line with our debt standard recovery process. Non-payment of your assessed charge could, in some cases result in court action.

Can I buy less care and not pay my assessed charge?

No, you are financially assessed to determine how much you can afford to pay towards the cost of your support needs. Your personal budget is the total cost of your care services, you first pay the amount you have been assessed to pay and we top up the difference.

If you decide to buy less support than we have identified that you need, your care needs will be reassessed to determine the correct level of support required. If your financial circumstances change you must tell us about this change as you will require a new financial assessment.

What happens if there is an underspend on my DP account?

When we pay a personal budget via a Direct Payment (DP), we first deduct the amount you have been assessed as being able to afford to pay towards your care before the balance is paid into your DP account. You are then required to pay this charge into the DP account. This is set out in the DP Agreement and DP Policy.

Where a person has care which has been commissioned by us, the care provider will tell us about changes in care provision, and our finance system will calculate any necessary change to the person’s charge. Where this is paid for via a Direct Payment, we expect you to tell us about this, at audit.

When there has been an underspend in the DP account during a 12-month period, we will request the return of surplus funds held over the maximum amount allowed within the account (8 weeks).

If the DP is jointly funded with Health, the % surplus is calculated based on the % value of our share of your care needs. That surplus will likely have accrued due to a variance in care needs/care provision and is very rarely because a person did not have any care during a week.

Will I always have enough money in my direct payment account to pay for my care and support?

If you always pay the weekly amount you have been assessed as being able to afford into your account, you should always have enough money available.

If you choose to pay for services that cost more than the personal budget allows for, you will need to pay the difference from your personal means. You should seek advice before agreeing this.

What happens if I do not report a change in my financial circumstances?

Your financial assessment will be revised and backdated to the date your circumstances changed. It is likely that this will mean you have been overpaid financial assistance. If you have been overpaid, you will have to make additional backdated payments into your direct payment account.

Will anyone check I have paid the correct weekly amount?

Yes. Your direct payment will be subject to ongoing audits in line with your direct payment agreement. If you have not paid your assessed share of the cost of your care and support, you will be sent a bill for the missing payments.

Non-payment of care charges

Non-payment of your share of your costs may result in your direct payment being withdrawn and your future care and support being arranged by us instead.

We have a debt recovery policy which is implemented if you do not pay your assessed contribution. Non-payment of your assessed charge could, in some cases result in court action.

If you cannot pay your assessed charge because there has been a change to your circumstances, please let us know as soon as possible and we will arrange to carry out a further financial assessment.