Here are some common questions people ask about self-directed support and personal budgets - and their answers. For further information, drop an email to: selfdirectedsupport@leeds.gov.uk. A print-friendly version can be downloaded from this page.
1. Who can access self-directed support (SDS)?
2. How do I know if I’m eligible for SDS?
3. What if I am in crisis?
4 . Social care services haven’t worked for me in the past – what’s different with SDS?
5. What is the difference between a personal budget and a direct payment?
6. What if I don’t want – or can’t – manage my budget myself?
7. Who will do my assessment?
8. How does the Resource Allocation System (RAS) work?
9. What if I don’t think my indicative budget is right?
10 . What type of things can I buy, and what can’t I buy?
11 . What if I’d rather get help from someone independent?
12. What support can I get if I want to employ a personal assistant?
13. What about my carer?
14. How will you monitor what I’ve spent my budget on?
15. Will my benefits be affected?
Back to self directed support menu
1. Who can access self-directed support (SDS)?
SDS is available for anyone with eligible, community-based social care needs.
Legally, you can’t use a personal budget to pay for residential placements (apart from short-term respite) or for health needs, so if you need those services, they will be provided in the same way as now.
2. How do I know if I’m eligible for SDS?
Adult Social Care has to give priority to people with the greatest need and, like all councils, we use the national ‘Fair Access to Care’ framework to decide who is eligible for support. In Leeds, this means only those with critical or substantial needs can access Adult Social Care Services (see the Fair Access to Care page for more detail).
If you contact us for help, we will offer you an assessment which will look at your situation and what help you need. We will then discuss with you whether or not you are eligible. If you do have eligible, community-based social care needs, you will be able to access SDS.
3. What if I am in crisis?
SDS is not intended for people in crisis situations. In those cases, we will work to put services in place for you as quickly as possible. Once the crisis is past, though, we will discuss whether you have any ongoing support needs – if you do, you will be able to choose how these could be met through SDS.
4 . Social care services haven’t worked for me in the past – what’s different with SDS?
Members of some communities have, in the past, felt that the services on offer don’t work for them. This may because they don’t fit well with their lifestyle, or respect their religious beliefs. SDS lets people design services that suit them and their community. It can, for example, help people:
- recruit assistants who share their first language and come from their community
- set guidelines and rules that fit their religious beliefs
- feel that their voice really matters.
5 . What is the difference between a personal budget and a direct payment?
Direct payments are one way of receiving a personal budget.
With a personal budget you will:
- know how much money is available to you to meet your social care needs
- have a support plan which says what outcomes you want to achieve with that funding
- be able to choose and control how and when your budget is spent, if you want to.
Some people will choose to manage their personal budget themselves, by receiving it as a direct payment. Direct payments are made directly into your bank, building society, post office or national savings account. You will need to set up a separate account for your direct payments to go into.
However, you can have a personal budget even if you don’t want to manage it yourself. The budget can be managed by a third party, a Trust, a provider or Leeds City Council.
Back to top
Back to self directed support menu
6 . What if I don’t want – or can’t – manage my budget myself?
You don’t have to! You can choose how you want to receive and manage your budget. The different ways you can do this are described below. Your social worker will discuss these options with you as part of your support plan, so you can decide which one would work best.
- Direct payment – payments are made directly to you so you can buy services and manage your budget.
- Direct payments to a suitable person – direct payments can be made to a suitable person (such as a family member) in cases where you cannot, or do not want to manage your own direct payments.
- Trusts – direct payments can be made to a group of people who manage them on your behalf. The Trust is usually a small group of people, and can include anyone you agree to, such as members of your family.
- Individual Service Funds – this is where you ask a provider to hold your budget and organise and manage your support.
- Local authority-managed – this is where you ask Leeds City Council to hold your budget and manage your support. If you choose this option, there are some restrictions on where you can buy your support from, for example you cannot use your budget to employ a personal assistant.
- Mixed budget – a combination of the above. For example, you could receive part of your budget as a direct payment, but ask the council to manage another part.
7. Who will do my assessment?
Your needs will be assessed using a self-directed assessment questionnaire. We will encourage you to lead this process wherever possible, with help from your carers, family or friends – after all, you are the expert on your life! However, Adult Social Care staff will work with you throughout the assessment, and provide as much help and support as you need. Even if you are happy to complete most of the questionnaire yourself, we will still need to talk to you to make sure everything has been covered.
8. How does the Resource Allocation System (RAS) work?
During assessment for a personal budget, you will have filled in a self-directed assessment questionnaire. The questions on this form have a number of points attached to them which the council uses to work out your 'indicative' personal budget - an approximate amount which will act as a guide to help you put together your support plan. The amount will be firmed up once your support plan is finalised and agreed.
9. What if I don’t think my indicative budget is right?
The indicative budgets will be right in most cases, and you should aim to build your support plan within that amount of money. However, it is only an indicative budget – and the final amount won’t be decided until your support plan is approved.
It may be that, as you work through your support plan, you can meet your needs using less money – if so, your overall budget will be reduced. Or, it may be that you feel your needs can only be met by increasing your budget. If that’s the case you should discuss this with your social worker – any situations like this will be looked at on a case-by-case basis to make sure your budget allocation is fair and meets your eligible needs.
10. What type of things can I buy, and what can’t I buy?
You can propose any service or item as part of your support plan – as long as it's legal, and meets the eligible community-based social care needs identified in your assessment, and will help you to achieve the outcomes you want. You should make sure that what you are suggesting will work well and is cost-effective.
You can't use your direct payment to buy services from the council, or to pay for permanent residential accommodation - although you might be able to use them for occasional short periods in residential accommodation.
If you are unsure or have any questions, please talk to your social worker, who will discuss your plan with you.
Back to top
Back to self directed support menu
11. What if I’d rather get help from someone independent?
Social care staff can help you all the way through the SDS process, for example with finding out what services are available and putting together your support plan. However, if you would prefer to get help from someone outside the council, you can do this free of charge through the Centre for Integrated Living (CIL), which is an independent, user-led organisation. Some people may choose to use other brokers, and fund this themselves.
12 . What support can I get if I want to employ a personal assistant?
ASIST (0113 214 3599) can provide advice and support if you want to employ a personal assistant. Or you can speak to people in Leeds who are already using a personal budget to employ their own personal assistants. Contact the Personal Budgets Peer Support Group on 0789 1277 495 or visit www.personalbudgetsleeds.org.
A detailed Guide to Becoming an Employer is available from your care manager - or call ASIST on 0113 214 3599 for a copy. Further information including a factsheet is available at www.leeds.gov.uk/personalbudgets. Other organisations, such as ACAS (www.acas.org.uk) and Business Link (www.businesslink.gov.uk ) also offer advice around employment issues.
13. What about my carer?
Carers’ assessments will be done, and services provided, as they are now.
14 . How will you monitor what I’ve spent my budget on?
If you receive your personal budget as a direct payment (or as a direct payment to a suitable person, or a Trust) you are responsible for how it is spent. You must be able to show that it has been used to buy the services and support agreed to in your support plan. Regular reviews will be carried out to make sure that this is the case, and that your needs are being met.
If you are finding it difficult to manage your direct payment, or make a mistake, support and advice is available from Leeds Centre for Integrated Living on 214 3599, or speak to your care manager.
In a very small number of cases, people may try to intentionally misuse the money (for example, spending it on something we have not agreed). If this happens, we will discuss this with you to find out what has been happening and why. We may then need to put a different arrangement in place, such as a local authority-managed budget.
Back to top Back to self directed support menu 15. Will my benefits be affected?
A personal budget is not a replacement of income, so it will not normally affect your benefits, although in some cases Carer's Allowance may be affected. Contact Leeds Centre for Integrated Living for further advice, on 0113 214 3599.
Back to top Back to self directed support menu