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Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget

Contents 1.

Introduction

What is a personal budget?

Who is eligible for a personal budget?

How is a personal budget awarded?

What can a personal budget be used for?

How do I apply for a personal budget?

How do I manage my personal budget?

How education, health and care services are working together 8 on personal budgets?

Legislation

10.

Disputes

11.

Compliments and complaints

12.

Further information

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023

1. Introduction Havering Council aspires for residents to live independent and fulfilling lives based on choices important to them. Being independent means having the ability to control your day-to-day life – including how your child’s care and support are provided. One of the ways we enable you to do this is through a personal budget via direct payments. The money you receive via a personal budget can be used to buy the services you need to meet your care and support needs or to help make life easier if you are a carer. This guide provides information and advice to give you the information you need to decide whether a direct payment is suitable for you and your family.

2. What is a personal budget? A Personal Budget is an amount of money that is allocated to a family/carer, child or young person to help meet their assessed needs and achieve agreed outcomes.  

Needs are those that the social care and education service have deemed eligible for support as determined by the Children and Families Act 2014. Outcomes are changes to a child or young person’s life that they would like to make. E.g. an outcome might simply be to increase confidence in establishing friendships or to become more independent.

For a Personal Budget, needs can relate to:  Education Needs  Care and Support Needs  Health Care Needs

A child or young person might have a Personal Budget to meet any or all of these types of needs. There are different Personal Budget arrangements related to each of these needs. Havering Council covers Personal Budgets in relation to Education and Social Care needs.

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023

The Integrated Care System – Havering holds the responsibility for local health budgets and any requests for a health budget would need to be made directly to the relevant health authority. Whilst you have a right to request Direct Payments from all services, for Social Care, Local Authorities must offer direct payments if there is an assessed need. For Education and Health Care, there are some conditions: For Education Direct Payments Local Authorities have to consider the impact on other services for children and also whether they would still be getting value for money. They also have to get agreement from your child’s school if you want to use a Direct Payment for a service that will be delivered at a school. For Health Direct Payments There must be agreement about managing risks and a named person who will be responsible for managing the healthcare that has been agreed in the plan. NHS organisations will also want to ensure value for money. Examples of the kinds of things or services that meet Education, Health, and Care and Support needs are as follows:  Education needs and outcomes could be met for example by specialist equipment or support from a Personal Assistant (PA) to assist with accessing educational activities and increasing learning.  Health needs might be met by the employment of support at home to carry out specialist health procedures at a time of your choosing.  Care and support needs such as emotional or practical needs might be met by short breaks or care in a home. Including this in a Personal Budget is partly dependent on whether there is already provision. These are just examples and everyone will differ in relation to how their needs can be met and outcomes can be achieved.

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023

3. Who is eligible for a personal budget? To have a Personal Budget, children and young people or carers must have eligible needs which have been assessed during the EHC planning process. In the EHC planning process, parents/carers, and the child or young person, alongside representatives from Education, Health and Social Care, discuss needs and the outcomes that children and their families want to see. The assets and support you already have is also discussed. Families will be encouraged to make the best use of their own resources, unique skills, and networks within the community to find ways to meet their needs. If having a Personal Budget will make a difference to meeting needs and achieving outcomes related to Education, Health and Care, then a Personal Budget will be offered. This arrangement will be reviewed annually to see what is working and if outcomes are being achieved. This could mean changing outcomes which could result in receiving more or less support. More information on the EHC planning process in Havering can be found at: https://familyserviceshub.havering.gov.uk/kb5/havering/directory/advice.page?id=F6OtOGmE 4rk&localofferchannel=0

4. How is a personal budget awarded? The Regulations provide that a direct payment may only be made where the Local Authority is satisfied that: 1 2 3 4

You will use them to secure the agreed provision in an appropriate way. You will act in the best interests of the child or young person. The direct payments will not have an adverse impact on other services which Havering arranges for other children and young people with EHC plans. Securing the proposed agreed provision by direct payments is an efficient use of Havering’s resources.

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023

The Council and its partners already buy services that meet the needs of the population. It might buy services for particular client groups and in doing so, may well already meet the needs of those who would otherwise benefit from a personal budget and EHC plan. Personal Budgets are an additional resource for more specialised needs.

5. What can a personal budget be used for? A Personal Budget should give the person who has it, more choice and control of how their needs are met and also help them to achieve the outcomes set out in the EHC Plan. People can choose what is best for them, providing what they choose meets agreed outcomes and is a good use of wider council and school and other resources. People tend to know what works for them – for instance – a long period of respite or short regular breaks. People’s ability to choose gives them more independence, and potentially, services become more responsive to their needs. Examples:  Support in your own home (equipment or help with personal and domestic activities)  Equipment to help communication or learning  Support for your child to join in with local clubs or activities  Sports or cultural activities  Short breaks  Employing Personal Assistants (PA’s)  Someone to go with you on a day trip to give you more time to talk to brothers or sisters  Work based learning opportunity A personal budget cannot be spent on a place at a school or college For more information on personal assistants, please visit: https://www.havering.gov.uk/info/20015/adult_social_care/612/help_at_home/2

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023

6. How do I apply for a personal budget? You have a right to ask for and have a Personal Budget if you have an Education, Health and Care plan or are working towards one. You can talk to the Children and Adults with Disabilities (CAD) Team or your school or college to tell you more about Personal Budgets and how you might apply. For the CAD Team, please call: +44(0)1708 433936. If your requirement relates to Personal Health Budgets you can talk to the Integrated Care Partnership for Havering via:  

No: +44(0)20 3182 3003 Email phealthbudgets@nhs.net

7. How do I manage my personal budget? A Personal Budget can be managed in one of 3 ways: As a Direct Payment This is money loaded onto a bank card set up similar to a debit card where you or your family can spend on the agreed support or services. However, you cannot use the card to withdraw cash unless this has been applied for and agreed to. As a budget that is managed by the Local Authority or School. This is often known as a Managed or Notional Budget. In this case you will not receive the money to spend it, however you will receive services and will be informed how much they cost. As a budget managed by another organisation but on your behalf (This cannot be a Local Authority or a School). This is sometimes known as a Third Party Arrangement. The organisation that manages the budget will listen how you want to spend the money and then spend it influenced by you. In this case you might better be able to influence the times a carer visits, or who the support person is for your child. You can use a combination of these three options. For example, the Local Authority could provide a short break service, while you use a Direct Payment service to pay for a Personal Assistant (PA) to support the child to make and meet friends at the local youth club. Each of these options for managing a Personal Budget has implications and you need to make a decision as to whether the benefits of having a particular type of Personal Budget outweigh the costs. For instance, with a Direct Payment some people might want to pay for a Personal Assistant (PA). If they do so, they will actually employ that PA which brings with it extra responsibilities which might be a cause of worry. However, there will be local organisations to help you, including with things like recruitment, employment contracts and payroll. Whatever you decide, a full understanding on behalf of each party will be necessary and in the case of Direct Payment, a contract with various stipulations signed.

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023

8. How education, health and care are working together on personal budgets? The Children and Families Act 2014 effectively requires that the various agencies involved specifically Schools, the Local Authority Education Department, Health (the local NHS), and the Local Authority’s Social Care Services which provide Care and Support have to come together as partners and provide a coordinated response to a child and young person’s needs. This is in relation to children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Many of the activities described in this guide and policy reflect that intention and this co-ordination between Education, Health and Care and Support is progressing well.

9. Legislation Personal Budgets are an important part of The Care Act (2014). The Care Act focuses on the achievement of wellbeing for people who are 18 and over through effective care and support. Personal Budgets for Care and Support for those 18 and over are subject to eligibility criteria set out in the Care and Support (Eligibility) Regulations 2014. Children and Young People with Special Education Needs (SEN) up to the age of 25 may also be eligible for Personal Health Budgets.

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023

10. Disputes Any disputes in relation to the allocation or provision of personal budgets should be addressed to the Head of Service in the first instance. If the recipient of a personal budget or direct payment has a complaint about services they have purchased independently, they should address this with the service provider or employee concerned.

11. Compliments and complaints Havering Council’s Complaints Policy and details can be found on the Council website below: https://www.havering.gov.uk/info/20047/consultations_complaints_and_feedback/208/compl aints If you wish to praise a Council service or one of our staff on their good work, please visit the Council’s website below to make a compliment: https://www.havering.gov.uk/info/20047/consultations_complaints_and_compliments/209/co mpliments

12. Further information For further information on direct payments or personal assistants, visit the Council’s information and advice about care and support for adult’s website below: https://www.havering.gov.uk/info/20015/adult_social_care/594/paying_for_care/2 Or you can email the Direct Payment team below: directpayments@havering.gov.uk

Managing your child’s care with a Personal Budget 2023