You can only have direct payment once you have had an assessment and the Council agrees you are eligible for certain social care services and you are:

• a disabled person aged 16 years and above
• a parent of (or people with parental responsibility for) disabled children, to pay for services for the family
• a carer aged 16 years and above, for services to meet the carers own assessed needs
• a disabled person with parental responsibilities for a child, for services to support their parenting role
• an appointed suitable or authorised person for someone who lacks capacity (the Council must agree who the suitable or authorised person is)
• In most cases the Council must offer direct payments but for some people who are subject to some mental health legislation or aspects of criminal justice legislation the Council have the power rather than duty

Please ask your social work team more about this. Some people who are placed under certain conditions by courts in relation to drug and alcohol dependencies are excluded from receiving direct payments.

You can only use this payment for services that we have agreed in your care and support plan. These may include:

• employing someone to help you, such as a personal assistant 
• using a home care agency  
• paying to attend a day care service 
• paying for some respite care services 
• paying for leisure activities 
• buying equipment to help you 

You are not able to use your direct payment to pay for:

• permanent care in a residential or nursing care home
• ordinary household expenses such as utility bills, rent or mortgage payments or food
• gambling
• anything illegal
• anything that does not contribute to meeting your needs or achieving the outcomes that you have agreed in your care and support plan
• employing a close family member living in the same household, unless the local authority has agreed this

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A pre-payment account is a current account that you will use to:

• deposit your contribution towards your care if you are assessed as needing to pay
• receive your direct payment from Worcestershire County Council (the Council)
• pay your care and support bills
• You cannot use the account for any other purposes

What are the benefits of a pre-payment account?

• your direct payment will be paid straight into your pre-payment account every four weeks
• it’s an easy way to arrange and pay for your support, especially if you’re unable to get out and about easily
• you will be able to set up standing orders, direct debits, bank transfers, and have access to telephone and internet banking to check your balance
• it enables you to financially manage and monitor how you use your budget to meet your care and support needs
• it enables you to pay your Personal Assistant(s) or carer(s) directly; to ensure you set up your employment contract(s) correctly please refer to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) guidance; there is useful information on the GOV.UK - HM Revenue and Customs website
• it is solely for your direct payment transactions and comes with an accompanying card (similar to a debit card), which can be used to purchase the support identified in your Support Plan
• you can add a “nominated person” to your pre-payment account to help you manage your funds upon request, e.g. a family member (so it is set up as a joint account)
• the financial processes comply with the Council’s auditing requirements

How do I get one?

Following a request from your Social Worker, the Council’s Direct Payments team will set up your pre-payment account for you.

You will then have to activate the account once the card arrives. You will be provided with the pre payment manual to activate it. 

The Councils Direct Payment Team can also help with queries about your payments, send documents (such as copies of your client contribution letter), complete audits of the Pre-Payment account etc.

Who can help me manage the pre-payment account?

EML (previously known as Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) have been appointed by the Council to provide you with dedicated support, to manage your pre-payment account on a day-to-day basis, and can support you with:

• setting up standing orders, direct debits and bank transfers
• resolving issues getting on-line to view your Pre-Payment Account
• providing account statements and balances
• ordering replacement cards, cancelling lost cards etc

Guidance

Download the Direct Payments guide (PDF)

When you decide that you would like a direct payment, we will ask you to: 

• agree the type of account  
• sign an agreement 
• pay your client contribution into the account 

You'll need to understand the agreement that you are being asked to sign.

The person from Worcestershire County Council who is helping you to arrange your care should explain these in more detail to you.

How to set up your pre-payment account

This video shows you how to use your Direct Payment account online.

*Brokerage cease sending tasks to the DP team on the Payment run days when Payment run is in process

**Bank Holidays or unplanned events may change the above dates.

Once a direct payment is set up, there will be an initial review within 6 weeks to ensure your needs are met and a copy of the support plan will be provided. Within 12 months you will then have a financial audit followed by a care review, these will always take place on an annual basis. 

What if my situation changes?

If there are any changes to your situation or circumstances with regards to the services you purchase, you can request an early review to discuss all support options to ensure your needs continue to be met. 

Examples of situations that may occur are as follows: 

• changes to your needs, an increase in support is required 
• ending of required services 
• loss of personal assistant 
• no longer able to access support 
• different type of support is required 
• hospital admission 

When a new Direct Payment is set up it will initially be reviewed within the first 6-8 weeks to check the account is working well. Following this each Direct Payment account has an annual financial check-up. We check a number of things including:

• there is enough contingency money in case there is a change in care or an emergency 
• the correct amount of client contribution is being paid into the account, topping up the total amount available to pay for care
• that spending on the account is in line with the support plan

The way we complete the financial check-up for your Direct Payment account will depend on what sort of account you hold. For a Prepayment account we will be able to access the Prepayment account system and check the statements independently. This is an advantage of the Prepayment account, not only is it easier to set up, but you do not need to supply WCC with bank statements for the annual financial check-up.  

If you hold a traditional bank account then you will need to send in the bank statements and any receipts for cash, cheque and bank transfer transactions, so that we can check them. We will contact you when this information is required.

Should I keep my receipts?

Worcestershire County Council does not expect you to keep detailed accounts but there are some records you must keep. We ask that you keep bank statements and bank account interest details for the current year plus the last 6 years. We also ask that you keep invoices, receipts, wage slips and timesheets for the Direct Payment account so that they can be viewed at the annual financial check-up. In addition if you purchase any equipment with your Direct Payment we suggest you keep receipts, warranties and maintenance and agreements for the life of the equipment. 

Employer Records

Employer records need to be retained in line with the advice from the Direct Payment Support Service or following the advice of HM Revenue and Customs. If you have chosen not to have this support you can receive advice from HM Revenue and Customs.

The financial check-up process

When the Direct Payment account is due a financial check-up we will contact you to let you know. If you have a Prepayment account then you do not need to reply unless there are any outstanding invoices or HMRC payments that you let us know about.   If you have a traditional account then we will request your bank statements and supporting documents. 

The next step is for us to complete the financial check-up by looking at the bank statements and supporting documents. We are checking there is enough contingency, the client contribution is being paid, and that the spending on the account is in line with the support plan. The next step is for the financial check-up to be passed to the social worker so that it can be used in line with the care review. If there any issues with the financial check-up then the social worker will address them with you. 

The reclaim process

Direct Payment accounts can hold a maximum balance of up to six weeks of the Direct Payment weekly amount.  Where the balance in the account is more than six weeks, we reclaim the surplus from the Direct Payment Account unless there are any outstanding invoices or other payments that you have let us know about.   

If you have a Prepayment account then we can reclaim the surplus directly from the account with no further action from you. 

If you have a traditional account then there are two ways it can be reclaimed. If the surplus is large and is higher the amount of the Direct Payment over 6 months it will be raised as an invoice. The invoice needs to be paid directly from the Direct Payment account. 

If the surplus will take less than 6 months to offset against ongoing payments then it will be applied as an adjustment and you will receive reduced payments for up to 6 months. The contingency amount will reduce over those 6 months, and so once the payments go back to the original amount the contingency amount should be no more than 6 weeks worth of the Direct Payment.  

For example, if the weekly Direct Payment amount was £100, and the client contribution was £20 then we are paying £80 per week, and £320 every 4 weeks. 

The maximum contingency allowed in the Direct Payment account is (6 x £100) £600. If the amount in the Direct Payment account was £2000 and there were no outstanding invoices to pay, then there is an unrequired surplus of (£2000 - £600) £1400. 

As the 4-weekly amount paid is £320 then the £1400 can be reclaimed over the next 5 payments by reducing the payment to £40 each 4 weeks: 

Number of payment periods x 4-weekly amount: 5 x £320 = £1600, 

Total to be paid over 5 periods – amount to be reclaimed: £1600 - £1400 = £200

Amount to be paid over following pay periods / number of pay periods: £200 / 5 = £40 

In the 6th month the payment would go back to the original amount of £320, and the contingency should have reduced as it is used to pay for the ongoing care. 

Once a direct payment is set up, there will be an initial review within 6 weeks to ensure your needs are met and a copy of the support plan will be provided. Within 12 months you will then have a financial audit followed by a care review, these will always take place on an annual basis.

However, if there are any changes to your situation or circumstances with regards to the services you purchase, you can request an early review to discuss all support options to ensure your needs continue to be met.

Examples of situations that may occur are as follows:

• changes to your needs, an increase in support is required
• ending of required services
• loss of personal assistant
• no longer able to access support
• different type of support is required
• hospital admission

Employer responsibility

As you are in receipt of a direct payment that means that you arrange and pay for required services from the direct payment budget, and that makes you the employer. There is some responsibility on you to find alternative methods of care, this ensures that the choice of which personal assistant/services/care provider to employ, remains yours.

However, the council will provide support and has a duty of care to ensure that identified needs are met.

The council can support you by allocating a social care worker to either support you to find alternative care providers, or by directly purchasing care and support if required. Advice and guidance is always available, and the support plan can be discussed and amended to ensure that methods of using the direct payment budget continue to be used to manage your eligible needs.

Emergency planning

It is important in all support services to have a plan in the event of an emergency. It is especially important with direct payments to contingency plan, to ensure that you always have access to the support you require and are not left without your needs being met.

During the support planning process with your social care worker, it is important to discuss and identify your Plan B, if your first chosen method of support becomes unavailable. This prevents a crisis from occurring and ensures that support remains in place and consistent.
 

There are circumstances where it is appropriate to temporarily cease or suspend the direct payment, or even terminate the direct payment facility. 

For example:

• where the individual is no longer eligible for Council support
• the individual has an extended period away from their main residence
• loss of capacity of the individual or regaining capacity to consent to a direct payment
• problems with the management of the direct payment, including breaching terms of the direct payment agreement
• safeguarding concerns 
• death of the individual

This decision could be made by the Direct Payment Recipient, the nominated person, suitable authorised person, or the Council.

The support plan will be revised to include what arrangements are to be made for alternative support to continue to meet eligible social care needs under the Care Act 2014.

The date of termination will be agreed in line with the new support arrangements.  

Details of all payments will be needed to complete a financial audit and to ensure any outstanding commitments are identified. 

Due to the advance payments (see payment run schedule) it is likely that most accounts will have funds that are required to be returned to the council, as we have provided funds to purchase care and support that occurred after the end date of the account.

A final audit would take place to determine the amount that is required to be returned and how this is to be paid. The final audit  will  also calculate whether the client contribution is up to date and whether any funds are owed to the council, or a reimbursement if the contribution has been overpaid.

Any contractual liabilities existing on the date of termination will be settled prior to agreeing a final balance. Social Care Workers will liaise with Finance Teams to ensure recovery of funds from prepayment accounts, traditional bank accounts or a managed account. 

If the Direct Payment has ceased due to death, the funds do not form part of the Estate and will need to be returned to the Council after all outstanding liabilities are settled. 

Employer responsibility 

When you are in receipt of a direct payment, you are able to arrange and pay for the required services to meet your eligible care and support needs in the way that suits you best. This gives you the flexibility and control to determine who provides the care and when this care is delivered.

However, the council will provide support and has a duty of care to ensure that identified needs are met. This is particularly the case if you decide to employ a personal assistant directly and in so doing become an employer.

Some information has been added to this page: Employing a personal assistant 

Barrie Bookkeeping and Payroll Solutions Ltd have been commissioned to provide employment support and are the preferred provider for payroll services.

Their contact details are :

Phone: 01592 756713

Email: DP@barriebookkeeping.co.uk 

Advice and guidance is also available from your social work team, and the support plan can be discussed and amended to ensure the direct payment budget continue to meet your eligible needs. 

Emergency planning 

It is important in all support services to have a plan in the event of an emergency. It is especially important with direct payments to have a  contingency plan, to ensure that you always have access to the support you require and are not left without your needs being met. 

During the support planning process with your social care worker, it is important to discuss and identify your plan B, if your first chosen method of support becomes unavailable. This prevents a crisis from occurring and ensures that support remains in place consistently.

Under the employment support contract Barrie Bookkeeping also offers this free support and advice around contingency planning on behalf of Worcestershire County Council. 

For a discussion about your needs, your current direct payments or whether you might be eligible for direct payments please visit:

Find the support you need through our Adult Front Door

You can also contact the external provider Barrie Bookkeeping and Payroll Solutions who deliver employment support on behalf of Worcestershire County Council to direct payment recipients. 

Phone: 01592 756713

Email: DP@barriebookkeeping.co.uk 

Their website is Home - Barrie Bookkeeping & Payroll Solutions Ltd