How a Direct payment works
How do they work?
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.
If you are eligible, our financial assistance is calculated according to the hours specified on your care plan at either the standard DP rate or the Micro Enterprise rate.
We will pay you the amount of any eligible financial assistance into your direct payment or prepayment card account (i.e. the cost of your personal budget less your assessed charge)
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 solely to manage your direct payment budget.
Direct Payment Rates Payable 2025-26
These are reviewed, revised and agreed by us annually for each financial year. Future year’s charges will be published when available. The current 2025-26 Direct Payment rates payable are:
| Rate payable | |
| Direct Payment rate | £17.84 |
| Micro Enterprise Direct Payment rate | £20.64 |
If you choose a provider that is registered with Small Good Stuff as a Micro‑Enterprise, the Micro‑Enterprise Direct Payment rate will apply. This is because the Micro‑Enterprise rate is specifically designed for this type of small, community‑based provider and forms part of our approach to developing a diverse local care market. The Micro‑Enterprise rate must not be applied to any other type of provision, including care agencies, Personal Assistant’s, or other non‑Micro‑Enterprise providers.
If you use your Direct Payment in other ways, for example, to employ a Personal Assistant, use a care agency or purchase different support, the standard Direct Payment rate for those services will apply instead.
Please note that we accept no liability for any services you choose to arrange privately. Our responsibility is limited to providing the Direct Payment, which is calculated in line with your assessed eligible needs and agreed care plan. How the Direct Payment is used, and the selection and commissioning of any care provider or personal assistant, is your responsibility as the Direct Payment holder.
We currently pay Direct Payments 4-weekly in advance of service. In addition to this this we pay a one-off contingency payment (equivalent to the value of a two-week payment) at the start of the DP agreement based on your care plan. This one-off contingency payment can be used to cover unforeseen circumstances and emergencies (i.e. staff sickness and training and other emergency short-term needs). There is no contingency payment made for DP carers, DP respite or Micro Enterprise users.
Auditing Direct Payments includes checking that the account balance is not unreasonably high. This is a statutory requirement designed to ensure that the Direct Payment is being used as intended and that public funds are being managed lawfully. If large sums build up, it may indicate:
- the care and support is not being delivered,
- the package is over‑funded, or
- support needs have changed
Frequently asked questions
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
