Personal budgets and direct payments

Your needs are only eligible if you meet all three of these conditions. For more information about eligibility criteria, visit

www.bromley.gov.uk/CareEligibility

If the Council has identified your care needs and established that you are eligible for support, you will discuss what support you require to meet your identified needs and a support plan will be drawn up outlining how this will be achieved. The amount of money to meet your eligible needs becomes your personal budget.

Bromley Council has a legal duty to provide any services you have been assessed as requiring, but this does not necessarily mean that you will not have to contribute towards the cost of your care. The amount the Council might pay and the amount you will pay will be determined by a financial assessment.

If your care needs are not eligible to be met by the Council or the NHS, you will be offered advice and information about how you can help yourself and will be redirected to other sources of support and practical help wherever possible.

Requesting a care assessment

If you think you or someone you care for needs a care assessment, call 020 8461 7777 or email adult.early.intervention@bromley.gov.uk to get further advice and guidance.

Bromley Council believes that residents who receive social care and support should have more control over their services. This means that people, whether self-funding or Council-funded, will have equal access to services and support.

Personal budgets

Personal budgets are a way of allocating money to individuals who are eligible for social care and ensures that those using care services have choice and control over the services they receive.

How do personal budgets work?

To assess whether you are eligible for Councilfunded support to meet your identified care needs, you will be asked to complete a financial assessment. More information about the financial assessment can be found on page 44.

The financial assessment will identify if:

• you are eligible for Council-funded support and

• if you are eligible, whether you need to make a financial contribution towards your personal budget (depending on your financial circumstances).

Your personal budget will set out how much the Council might pay towards your identified care needs. You can choose to take this personal budget as a direct payment if you are eligible for a contribution from the Council. Your support needs and financial contribution will be reviewed at least once a year, or more frequently if you have a low level of need, or when a change happens to your situation.

A direct payment means that the portion of your personal budget that the Council is paying will be given to you to arrange and pay for your care and support instead of Bromley Council arranging the service for you.

Direct payments

Once your direct payment is agreed, the Council will talk to you about what you want to achieve and the different ways that your personal budget, including your direct payment, can be used to support your needs. This will be agreed in your support plan.

Also, if you are caring for someone else, you could receive a direct payment to help you in your caring role or to provide other support so that you can have some time for yourself.

Why would I want a direct payment?

• direct payments allow you to have more control over the decisions that affect your life and

• they allow you more flexibility and choice, as you can buy appropriate support that matches your needs.