Direct payments

A person with parental responsibility for a disabled child is given money to pay for the service instead of the local council arranging that service on their behalf. A disabled child will be eligible for direct payments if they're eligible for a service from social services.

We'll decide whether a child is eligible by carrying out an assessment of the needs of the child and their family.

Direct payments can be made to:

• disabled people aged 16 or over (with short or long-term needs)
• parents or carers of a child with special needs or disability under the age of 18 years

You can receive direct payments for your child from social services as long as you:

• live in Luton
• have been assessed as eligible to receive a short break/respite service
• are willing to receive direct payments and are able to secure the services
• can demonstrate that you are able to manage direct payments with or without assistance

What responsibilities will I have?

You are responsible for:

• arranging the services that have been agreed in the care plan
• setting up a bank account specifically for receiving receipts of direct payments
• employing staff such as a personal assistant (PA) and the legal responsibilities of an employer
• regularly recording and reporting how you have used the money

If you wish to employ a PA for support, you can find information and contact details for companies who can help you with this on our employing a personal assistant for direct payments page.

Direct payments: choosing and arranging your own care

A direct payment is money paid to you, either as a one-off, or as a series of payments, so that you can choose and buy the care services assessed as needed, instead of getting them from the local authority.

After you've had an assessment of care needs you will then be given an estimated personal budget for spending on the care you need.

The local authority will agree with you how this money will be spent and it will be detailed in a care plan.

Once this has been agreed you have three options. You can either:

• receive this money yourself as direct payments, so you can choose and buy your own care
• let the local authority put care services in place for you
• have a mixture of these two options

What can I spend the direct payments on?

You can only spend the allocated budget on the support or service that you and the local authority have previously agree will achieve your child’s goals – these were identified in the assessment of care needs.

You're free to choose:

• what form that support is in
• who it's provided by
• when and where you receive it

The support you choose must be lawful, effective, and within your personal budget. Download the guide below for ideas on what you can spend direct payments on, and details of what they cannot be used for.

Download the guide to direct payments for children and young people

Also see guidance on personal budgets and how to apply.

How do I get direct payments?

An assessment of need will be required. To do this you will need to complete the online referral form.

This is passed to the Children with Disabilities team and if your child/ren meet the criteria for a statutory social work intervention, an assessment will be carried out.

See the Local Offer for a range of short break services available to families.

Will direct payments affect my social security payments?

Direct payments will not be taken into account when working out social security benefits, which are related to your income.

Direct Payments replace the services that social services would otherwise provide. The Inland Revenue does not regard direct payments as taxable income.