Personal Budgets Explained

Choice and Control is part of a national programme called Integrated Personal Commissioning which is supporting areas across the country to develop personalised healthcare and better integration of services across health, social care, education and the voluntary and community sector.

The programme aims to ensure that services are tailored to people’s individual needs, building on learning from personal budgets in social care and personal health budgets in health.

In Islington children’s services we are currently focussing on children and young people who are looked after or care leavers who have, or are at risk of developing, mental health needs.

Children and young people will be identified through social workers and other professionals.

Choice and Control is about putting the young person at the centre of their care and support planning, and encouraging them to take the lead in thinking about what would help to improve their social and emotional wellbeing. It is about being creative, and thinking outside of ‘traditional’ services offers.

Through Choice and Control, it may be that the young person is eligible for a Personal Budget, so that they can access what they have identified to help them achieve their goals and outcomes.

A Direct Payment is one way of delivering a Personal Budget.
If a person gets a Direct Payment then they will get the money that has been agreed for the care and support paid either into a separate bank account, or onto a pre-paid card issued by the Local Authority.

A person cannot have a Direct Payment if they:

• Are subject to a drug or alcohol treatment programme
• Have a gambling addiction
• Have a youth rehabilitation order
• Have been assessed as lacking capacity following a Mental Capacity Assessment

If someone is unable to have a Direct Payment they can still have a Personal Budget. Other ways of managing Personal Budgets are:

• Third Party Managed Budget – an organisation will manage the money on the person’s behalf, but they will still have control over what their support looks like and how the money is spent
• Notional Budget – the Local Authority or CCG manage the money on the person’s behalf

The Local Authority or CCG may refuse to give someone a Personal Budget if:

1. It goes against the rules about what a Personal Budget can be spent on
2. It does not meet an agreed outcome
3. It does not provide good value for money/it is more than what the Local Authority or NHS would have spent on services for a person
4. There is significant risk that it will cause harm (and that risk cannot be managed)

Your Personal Budget can be spent on anything that meets the goals that have been agreed between you and relevant professionals who are supporting you. These goals will be set out in your support/care plan or EHCP.

Personal Budgets cannot be spent on:

• Anything illegal
• Alcohol or tobacco
• Paying off debts
• Paying for household bills
• A range of health services including:
• Primary care services (e.g. GP)
• Urgent and emergency care
• Prescriptions and vaccinations
• Dentistry
• Surgery
• Anything that NICE has said cannot be prescribed on the NHS (for example homeopathy and herbal treatments)

Mainstream schools receive funding for children with SEN in three ways:

• 'Base' (or pupil) funding - this pays for classrooms and buildings.
• A 'notional' SEN budget allocated by formula - this normally pays for additional teachers or teaching assistants, specialist programmes and specialist services commissioned by the school.
• Any individual ('top-up') funding allocated through a statement / Education, Health and Care Plan.

Any Personal Budget for SEND would likely be funded by the ‘top up’ funding. Schools can decide to support a Personal Budget through the use of the ‘base’ or ‘notional’ funding, but they are under no obligation to do this, as it could destabalise existing contracts and services.

From the 1st October 2014 parents/carers have had the right to have a personal budget for their child if they’re eligible for continuing care funding.

Parents/carers of children and young people with palliative care needs and in receipt of respite services from the Whittington Health Life Force Team have the right to ask for a personal budget.

For more information related to this, please go to the NHS website.

The amount of money will be calculated following a Social Work assessment.
Directly provided services can offer support after school, at weekends and during the school holidays via our Short Breaks providers.

Overnight short breaks can be provided where the need for this has been identified via the child and family assessment.

Direct Payments are an option offered to parents who receive support from Disabled Children Services. Sometimes parents are offered a Personal Budget after an assessment of their Child’s needs, which is based on a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). Points on the SAQ will determine what the Child’s indicative budget will be. Our approach is person-centred and strength based, which is reflected in CIN Support Plans.

The role of the Direct Payments Team includes:

• Helping parents to plan and commission services based on the Personal Budget
• Providing guidance in the Direct Payment process
• Monitoring accounts and functions of direct payments in line with agreed Support Plans
• Guiding parents taking up a Direct Payment on how to be a good employer and the responsibilities that come with this