Care & support · England
Choosing direct payments
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This guide is for people in England.
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You can ask to arrange some of your own care.
The council may give you money for agreed support.
This is called a direct payment.
Use the money for support agreed in your care plan.
Ask the council to explain the rules.
You can ask someone to help manage the payments.
The council must check the arrangement.
Ask for help with records and paying staff.
Check who is responsible for each task.
You may choose to employ a personal assistant.
Then you have responsibilities as an employer.
Ask for help to understand these.
Plan what happens when your worker cannot come.
Ask who will arrange replacement support.
Tell the council if the arrangement is not working.
You can ask to change how your care is arranged.
What you can do next
Contact your council’s direct payments team.
You could say: Please explain my choices and the help I can get.
Read MoneyHelper’s direct payments guide Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Direct payment support Web page
Understand options and questions to ask your council.
- Employing staff: first steps Web page
Official checklist for employer responsibilities.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Direct payments and personal assistants
Choose how to arrange support and understand the help and responsibilities involved.
Adults aged 18 and over · Council direct payments · England
Understand the choice
Direct payments are council payments used to arrange support agreed in your care plan. They are one way to use a personal budget. You can ask about keeping some council-arranged services alongside them. They are not unrestricted spending money. Explain the people, times and activities that would help your support fit your life.
Ask about receiving payments
Ask your social worker or council direct payments team. Eligibility conditions apply. A person with capacity can nominate someone to receive payments, with that person’s agreement. Where the adult lacks capacity to request payments, an authorised person may apply under different rules. The council must assess the arrangement; being a relative does not automatically create authority.
Get help to manage the arrangement
Ask about a local support service, payroll provider or managed account. Check exactly what each service does, its charges and who remains responsible. Needing assistance with records does not by itself rule out direct payments. Make an accessible agreement about spending, receipts, reporting changes and the person’s involvement in everyday choices.
Employing a personal assistant
If you employ a personal assistant, you take on employer responsibilities even though the funding comes from the council. These can include recruitment checks, pay, holiday, tax, National Insurance, pension duties and insurance. Ask for specialist employment and payroll support. Check the employment status properly; calling someone self-employed does not decide it.
Plan costs and backup care
Before committing, ask how the budget covers the agreed support and associated employment costs. Discuss training for communication, moving and handling or delegated health tasks where relevant. Record what happens if a worker is ill, on holiday or leaves. Keep emergency contacts available and identify who will organise replacement support.
Review problems early
Keep the required spending records and tell the council about changes. Ask for help promptly if administration becomes difficult, the budget is insufficient or support stops working. You can ask to change how care is arranged. Plan any change carefully, including existing contracts and staff obligations, so essential support does not simply disappear.
Words you could use
“Please explain my direct payment options, the support available to manage them and who will arrange backup care.”
More useful links
- Direct payment support Web page
Understand options and questions to ask your council.
- Employing staff: first steps Web page
Official checklist for employer responsibilities.
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.
- NHS: personal budgets and direct payments Web page
Options for arranging care and combining approaches.
- Care Act 2014: direct payments with capacity Web page
Requests, nominated recipients and management with support.
- Care Act 2014: direct payments without capacity Web page
The authorised-person route and conditions.
- MoneyHelper: direct payments Web page
Managing payments, support and changes in circumstances.
- GOV.UK: employing someone at home Web page
Responsibilities when employing a carer or personal assistant.
- Care and support statutory guidance Web page
Direct payment support, employer costs and continuity of care.