Care & support · England
Your care plan and care money
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This guide is for people in England.
You can read it with someone you trust.
Ask for your assessment decision in writing.
Ask someone to explain the reasons.
You should be involved in planning your care.
Ask for help to share your wishes.
Your care plan says what help will be arranged.
Check who will help and when.
Explain all the support you need.
Include help at night and when you go out.
A personal budget shows the cost of support in your plan.
It shows what the council pays and what you must pay.
Ask how the money will meet your needs.
The council can arrange support.
You can ask about other ways to manage the care money.
Ask for help to compare your choices.
Tell the council if your support is not working.
Ask it to review your plan.
Explain if you need urgent help.
What you can do next
Ask adult social care for your plan and budget.
You could say: Please explain how this support will meet my needs.
Read the NHS guide to care plans Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Find your council Web pageFuller information
Contact adult social care to discuss your assessment or plan.
- NHS care plan guide Web page
What a plan should cover and how to request a review.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Your care plan and personal budget
What happens after a needs assessment, and how to check the support and money in your plan.
Adults aged 18 and over · Council social care · England
Understand the assessment decision
After assessing your needs, the council decides which meet the national eligibility rules. Ask for the written decision and reasons. Eligibility concerns your needs, not simply your diagnosis or bank balance. If none qualify, ask for written information about other ways to meet or reduce them. You can question an assessment that misses important evidence.
Build the plan with you
When the council will meet your needs, it must prepare a care and support plan and involve you. Ask for communication support and people you choose to take part. The plan should identify the needs being met, how support will work and the outcomes that matter to you. Request an accessible copy.
Make arrangements clear
Check who will provide support, when it starts and whom to contact. Describe practical details: communication, personal care, community activities, night support and equipment. If relevant, record when two trained workers are needed. Ask how health and social care arrangements fit together. Family members should explain what help they are willing and able to provide.
Understand the personal budget
A personal budget records the cost to the council of meeting the needs covered by the plan, your assessed contribution and the council contribution. It must be sufficient to meet those needs. Ask how the amount was calculated and what real services it can buy. A budget is not automatically a payment into your bank account.
Choose how support is arranged
Ask about council-arranged services, another organisation managing the budget, direct payments or a combination. Explain the help you need to compare these options. Choosing direct payments may involve extra responsibilities, so read that guide before deciding. Financial assessment and charges are separate questions from identifying your care needs.
Check whether it works
Agree when the plan will be reviewed. Tell the council promptly if support is missing, unsuitable or no longer enough. Keep examples of the effect on everyday life. Ask for a review and interim arrangements where necessary. A complaint does not itself stop a change; seek timely advice when essential care is at risk.
Words you could use
“Please explain my eligibility decision, the support in my plan and how my personal budget will meet my needs.”
More useful links
- Find your council Web pageFuller information
Contact adult social care to discuss your assessment or plan.
- NHS care plan guide Web page
What a plan should cover and how to request a review.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 27 October 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Care Act 2014: eligibility decisions Web page
Written decisions and advice when needs do not qualify.
- Care Act 2014: care and support plans Web page
Plan contents, involvement and copies.
- Care Act 2014: personal budgets Web page
The budget and contributions it must record.
- NHS: care and support plans Web page
Practical planning, review and complaint information.
- NHS: personal budgets Web page
Ways to arrange support and manage a budget.
- Care and support statutory guidance Web page
Needs-based planning and sufficient personal budgets.