Direct Payments - What happens next?

Once you are satisfied that you want to follow up the Direct Payments option, you should contact your case worker in order to submit your own Direct Payment Plan and costing. The Direct Payment Advice and Support Service can help you with this.

If the Direct Payment is to go ahead you will receive an agreement from us which will confirm your care plan details.  The agreement will include the terms and conditions of receiving a Direct Payment.  You will need to check these and if you agree to them, you should sign the agreement and send it back to us.

It may be possible to make single “one off” Direct Payments for equipment, fixed term packages or respite care without a separate bank account but for repeated or ongoing Direct Payments you must set up a separate account. This can also be used for Independent Living Fund, Access to Work funding and any other care payments.  This will enable you to keep your other financial affairs separate and private.  You should send us your Direct Payment bank account details with your agreement as soon as possible so we can start the payments.

If you have difficulty setting up a separate account the Direct Payment Advice and Support Service can help you with this.

The Direct Payments Administrators will then send you:

• details of when the first payment will be paid into your nominated bank account;
• a list of dates when subsequent Direct Payments will be paid into your account; and
• financial return forms with instructions on how you should complete these on a monthly basis.

(Please note that the monthly financial return forms are also available in electronic format on request.)

The Direct Payments Administrators can also give you information about:

• how the payments will be made and the practicalities of receiving payments;
• the financial records you will need to keep; and
• the monthly returns you will be expected to provide to us and how to complete these.

They can also visit you at home to explain things in more detail.