Direct Payments
What are Direct Payments?
Direct Payments, which are sometimes referred to as Self-Directed Support, are an alternative way of having your needs met after your community care assessment for adults and older people, or children’s services assessment has identified them.
Once you have your needs assessed you can choose to receive services from the local authority, or you can choose to have a cash payment instead so that you can buy the service directly for yourself.
Orkney Health and Care will calculate the amount of the Direct Payment based on an individual assessment of your care needs.
Direct Payment funds must be used to purchase services to meet your agreed care needs and personal outcomes.
Direct Payments will not be regarded as adding to your income for the calculation of income related social security benefits.
More detailed guidance is available - ask your Social Worker/Occupational Therapist for this.
Who can receive Direct Payments?
You can receive Direct Payments if:
- You are assessed by Orkney Health and Care as in need of care services and have legal capacity to receive a payment or your guardian/Attorney can do so for you.
- You are 16 or over (including older people) or the parent/ guardian of a child with disabilities. Some people will be excluded for legal reasons.
- You are willing and able to manage a Direct Payment alone, or with assistance.
- Orkney Health and Care will allocate a Direct Payment in the same way as other services are decided upon, i.e. based on need and availability of resources.
Why would I want Direct Payments?
- To give greater control over when and how your needs are met.
- To allow you the freedom to choose the staff you employ or arrange the services yourself.
- To provide you with alternatives to locally existing services.
What can I use Direct Payments for?
- Payments can be used to employ a personal assistant or buy services from an agency, or from the Local Authority, but cannot be used to pay for a permanent residential care place, or to buy services from NHS Orkney.
- These payments cannot normally be used to employ your spouse, partner or close relative unless there are special individual circumstances that require this arrangement.
- You can choose to have a package where you have some of your care needs met through Direct Payments and other needs met using services provided by the Council. For example, you might attend a day centre but have a Direct Payment to pay a Personal Assistant to meet your personal care needs.
What are my responsibilities?
- You will have legal responsibilities with which you must comply if you employ your own staff, e.g. the preparation of pay cheques, calculation of income tax and national insurance. Age Scotland Orkney (details below) can help with managing these tasks.
- You will have to account on a regular basis that the payments you receive are used to meet your needs and personal outcomes as they have been assessed. You will get detailed information about what you need to do should you be allocated a Direct Payment.
Contacts
Duty Worker, Adult Social Work Team
Orkney Health and Care, Orkney Islands Council, Council Offices, Kirkwall, KW15 1NY.
Telephone: 01856873535.
Age Scotland Orkney
Email: directpayments@agescotlandorkney.org.uk
Tel. 01856 872438
Age Scotland Orkney provide the following services to support adults and their carers/legal proxies who have opted for a direct payment under SDS option 1:
- Advertising and recruitment
- Advice on appropriate insurance
- Advice on relevant training
- Payroll, tax and National Insurance
- Contracts, job descriptions, health and safety at work policy
This information is also available in a leaflet in the 'Related Downloads' section of this page.
