Funding
Yes you can use your funding to pay for Skills Tank provision.
Introduction
Skills Tank staff have an extensive knowledge of the care system, social services and the facilities that are available to you. Direct Payments is just one, of many funding options, you can use to access our provision, a provision to help improve the life of adults with Learning Difficulties / Disabilities, Challenging Behaviour, Mental Health and/or Autistic Spectrum Disorder that you care for.
We can provide you with everything you need to ensure a safe and productive daily (Monday – Friday) provision (09:00- 15:00) starting with a pick-up and drop off service that can include escort facilities if needed. We can include support staff if required and the daily learning activities to improve the life of the adult(s) you care for. Click here to go to the what we do page for more details.
We take away all the stress and bureacratic hassle, making it easy for you to organise a daily provision for the adult(s) you care for with learning difficulties/learning disabilities, challenging behaviour and mental health. If you currently have a Direct Payments provision in place and would like to know more about our services please call Glenys on 0121 358 8150 to discuss your needs.
We are often asked about Direct payments - here's a brief overview to help you.
Direct Payments – what is it?
Direct Payments is a scheme aimed at giving disabled people more independence as well as a greater choice in their care and support arrangements.
Most people who currently receive social services provision from their council have a right to Direct Payments. Direct Payments are payments made to individuals who have been assessed by their local authority social services as needing services in lieu of social service provisions. Direct Payments are not liable to income tax and are not taken into account when assessing social security benefits.
This money provided by Direct Payments is to be totally and wholly used to fund the arrangement of, and the provision of, the services required to meet social care needs of the individual assessed by social services. Your social worker should discuss Direct Payments with you, as an option, when your needs are being assessed.
What do you need to know?
Before Direct Payments start, we feel it would be a good idea to consider discussing the following points with your social worker and/or your local Direct Payments support organisation:
- What needs and services do the Direct Payments relate to?
- How much will you receive and do you have to contribute?
- How will you secure the services to meet your needs?
- What support will you need and where is it available?
- How the money can and cannot be spent?
- What flexibility is allowed?
- What changes to the way you spend the money need to be agreed in advance
- When will the Direct Payments will be paid and how?
- What are the back-up arrangements for emergencies
- What information will you need to keep and provide about how you are spending the money?
- Are there any conditions attached to the Direct Payments? If so what?
- How often are my arrangements reviewed?
- What are the circumstances the council would look at if considering stopping your direct payments?
- What notice period would you be given if Direct Payments were to be stopped?
- How would any outstanding commitments would be handled?
- How do I get Direct Payments?
Contact your local Social Services to request an assessment of your needs. You may initially be asked to complete a Self Assessment Questionnaire or you will receive a Community Care Assessment carried out by a Social Worker.
At the assessment, your Social Worker should discuss the option of Direct Payments.
Before the assessment it’s a good idea to think about your support needs and write down a checklist see above, if you’re not sure of everything you need it’s a good idea to keep a diary/journal for at least 14 days before your assessment. Record what you/they do, how long it takes and what help you/they receive, as well as what you/they would like to do if you/they had the appropriate support. Please note: it's important to remember those things that don't happen within the period of your diary/journal – make a note of these so you don’t forget to discuss them.
At the assessment you will likely be asked questions about your ability to manage daily tasks, such as personal care, household tasks and social activities. Questions might include:
What can you do yourself and what tasks do you need help with?
What tasks do you need other people to do for you?
What would you like to do and be able to do if you had the correct support?
If you’ve had an assessment and currently receive services, you can contact your local council to discuss the Direct Payments option. If you have been assessed and the council decided that you didn't need services, then it’s likely you won't be offered Direct Payments. You can appeal to the council if you disagree with this.
If your needs have changed since a previous assessment or you haven't already been assessed but think you might be eligible for Direct Payments , contact your local council and request one.
The positives and negatives to Direct Payments.
On the positive side they do offer a lot of flexibility, empowerment and control, but they also bring responsibilities such as you are responsible for arranging the services you need, resolving any problems that may arise and you also have to keep accounts and clear records of how you use the money.
Your local council will give you guidance and a clear idea of how they intend to check on how you are managing your Direct Payments.
Dependent on your situation and needs going the Direct Payments route may mean you’ll need to employ staff and take on the legal responsibilities associated with being an employer - it’s important you investigate these fully. A good place to start is your local Business Link.
If you choose to employ staff always check their suitability, take up previous employer references and have a CRB Criminal Records Bureau check conducted – your social worker will be able to help with CRB. (At Skills Tank we guarantee that all our staff are fully referenced and CRB checked.)
Again, if you employ people it’s highly recommended that you take out Employers Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance to protect yourself against any claims such as an employee injuring themselves whilst carrying out work for you - again your social services adviser can help point you in the right direction as there are companies that have policies specifically for Direct Payments users.
For everyone you directly employ you’ll need to put in place a clear job description and a contract of employment these need to be done within the first 2 months of engagement with you and the employee signing a copy and you each keeping a copy. Ideally your employment contract should include:
- Place and hours of work
- Clear accurate job description
- Employee details
- Employer details
- Basic pay, associated out of hours rates and conditions of payment
- Holiday entitlement
- Sick pay entitlement
- Details what is acceptable travel expenses if applicable
- Salary payment when, frequency and by what method
- Conditions of work and duties
- Confidentiality clause if applicable
- Termination details and notice periods
- Grievance, dismissal and disciplinary procedures
- Other applicable details
Also, for everyone you employ you’ll need to organise payment, for this you’ll need to register with HMRC as an employer and make the required payments to HMRC having made the correct deductions from your employees salary. You’ll need to produce relevant paperwork such as tax year end returns.
On the plus side, Direct Payments gives you flexibility and greater control as well as more independence as you’ll have access to greater choice in your/the person you care fors care and support arrangements. This gives you/ the adult(s) you care for with learning difficulties/learning disabilities, challenging behaviour and mental health a better more fulfilling life.
Yes, working with Skills Tank you can take advantage of all the positives of Direct Payments without taking on any of the burdens, bureacratic hassle and responsibilities such as contracts of employment, dealing with HMRC etc. all in all making your life eaiser.
Have a friendly no obligation discussion with Glenys Jones today, just call 0121 358 8150 and get a feel for what you could achieve with Skills Tank provision.
We hope the above has given you an insight into Direct Payments to learn more request our Direct Payments fact sheet which goes into much greater detail (link to request form) and covers the following topics:
- Direct Payments – what is it?
- What do I need to know?
- How do I get Direct Payments?
- Why would you consider Direct Payments?
- Are you eligible to receive Direct Payments?
- What can effect your eligibility?
- Do I have to be able to give consent to receive Direct Payments?
- Do I have to manage Direct Payments myself?
- What can I use my Direct Payments for?
- You can use direct payments to purchase provision/care from a care agency
- Will I get enough money?
- Can I refuse Direct Payments once they’ve been offered to me?
If you require more than a daily provision there are organisation that can provide you with a full support package for more details look at www.therowan.org or www.penderelstrust.org.uk
Please Note:
Details of Direct Payments do change and we do everything we can to keep up to date with all the changes and reflect these in the information we provide but please do check with Social Services for the current, definative rules and explanations.
To find out how we can help you call us: 0121 358 8150
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