Money Matters
Personal Budgets
A Personal Budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver provision set out in an EHC plan where the parent or young person is involved in securing that provision.
Local authorities must provide information on Personal Budgets as part of the Local Offer. This should include a policy on Personal Budgets that sets out a description of the services across education, health and social care that currently lend themselves to the use of Personal Budgets, how that funding will be made available, and clear and simple statements of eligibility criteria and the decision-making processes.
Personal Budgets should reflect the holistic nature of an EHC plan and can include funding for special educational, health and social care provision. They should be focused to secure the provision agreed in the EHC plan and should be designed to secure the outcomes specified in the EHC plan.
Further resources on Personal Budgets are available through the DfE-funded ‘Making it Personal’ project. This includes guidance for parents, commissioners and suppliers and is available on the Kids website.
There are also local groups that can provide you with support and information. These include:
- Wirral SEND Partnership Information, Advice and Support Service (previously known as Parent Partnership Service)
- Independent Support (Barnardos North West)
View the videos below, created by KIDS Charity, for further information on Personal Budgets
Personal budgets explained
Personal budgets with subtitles
Personal budgets with Makaton
Personal Health Budgets
A personal Health Budget is an amount of money to support a person’s identified health and wellbeing needs, planned and agreed between the person and their local NHS team.
The vision for personal health budgets is to enable people with long term conditions and disabilities to have greater choice, flexibility and control over the health care and service they receive.
Personal health budgets offer opportunity for people to work in equal partnership with the NHS about how their health and well-being needs can be met.
In the top right hand of this page, you will find access to three documents which further explain how personal health budgets work.
There is an easy read version for patients along with a more detailed patient and carers information document.
Also available is a framework document for providers and staff.
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs24_personal_budgets_and_direct_payments_in_social_care_fcs.pdf
Direct Payments
Direct Payments are cash payments given to individuals to pay for community care services which they have been assessed as needing, the intention is to give them greater choice and control in their care services. The payment must be enough to enable the individual to buy services to meet their needs. The payments must only be spent on the services identified in their support plan.
A direct payment gives a responsibility to the person receiving it to employ people, often known as personal assistants, or to buy services for themselves from established care agencies. People can get support in fulfilling these responsibilities from direct payment support officers within the Council.
Direct payments are available across the UK and to all client groups, including carers, parents of disabled children and people who lack mental capacity, however they cannot be used to purchase long term residential care or services provided directly by the Council.
Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for people receiving direct payments
Advice for people who buy care and support through a direct payment, as well as local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and those who provide care and support. It sets out the main messages for individuals and organisations that can support planning and help slow the transmission of the Coronavirus as the outbreak progresses across the country. It is accompanied by additional guidance, mostly aimed at direct payment holders, that directly responds to questions and concerns previously raised by direct payment holders, personal assistants, and charities and organisations that support them. [Published 21 April 2020; Last updated 10 June 2020]
Useful Links and Documents
Wirral Council Personal Budget Policy
Personal Health Budgets Patient Guide
Personal Health Budget Framework
NHS Personal Health Budgets Easyread
Easy Read Guide to Personal Budgets
Direct Payment Q & A’s as of October 2021