Direct Payments

Following your community care assessment, reassessment or review, you can now choose whether to have services provided directly by Community Services, or have a Direct Payment.

A Direct Payment is a cash payment to allow you to buy your own assessed support instead of Community Services providing it for you.

You can use the money to employ a personal assistant or you can choose to use an agency to provide staff for you.

You can 'mix and match' and have some of your support provided by Community Services and take some as a Direct payment.

If you employ a personal assistant we will pay a fixed per hour rate for the hours that you have been assessed as needing support, but if you have complex needs that can only be satisfied if you get more money, we will look at that too and make reasonable adjustments.

We will pay a one off start up cost to help with expenses such as advertising and purchasing employer's liability insurance.

You can use the money to employ a close relative or person living in your home as long as the council is satisfied that that person will fulfil you needs and provide the support you are assessed as needing.

You must use the money to meet your assessed needs.

You will need to open a separate bank account to have the money paid into, and send in monthly bank statements from this account.

You can ask to be referred to the third party support service which will receive the money on your behalf and manage everything for you. This will mean you do not need to open a bank account or have any dealings with the administration of Direct Payments, all you have do is choose who provides your care and they will do everything else.

If you want to manage your Direct Payments yourself, there is an advice and support service who can tell you everything you need to know and support you whilst you are on Direct Payments.

If you need advocacy, we can provide that too.

Direct Payments are not a social security benefit, will not affect any means tested benefit you are entitled to and are not taxable.

Service providers and partners

The Shaw Trust is our partner in providing this service.

Referrals and accessing the service:

On accessing Direct Payments, you can get information through the Council's Access Team or if you are caring for a child with a disability through Children and Families, Duty and Assessment Team.. In offering this service, we receive support from the Shaw Trust, City and Hackney Carers Centre, the Children's Disability Register, and a variety of other voluntary sector organisations where we have a contract. Further information is also available from the Direct Payments Coordinator.

Welfare rights advice

Please visit the Direct Gov or the Entitled To websites to find out which benefits you are eligible for. For debt and money advice, you can also contact organisations in and around Hackney by looking at the Community Directory.

Online form: Direct Payments enquiry form

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Page updated: 11 Jun 2008