Payments

With the continued implementation of the personalisation policy, Personal Budgets (PBs) have moved to the mainstream in adult social care in England. The relationship between the policy goals of personalisation and safeguarding is contentious. Some have argued that PBs have the potential to empower recipients, while others believe PBs, especially Direct Payments, might increase the risk of abuse.

The Carers and Disabled Children’s Act 2000 promises carers flexibility. But flexibility comes at a cost - local authorities will be charging for carers’ services, writes Gideon Burrows.

Explains how Lancashire social services' voucher scheme is giving carers more choice and flexibility over respite care.

Users, carers and the wider public are just as important to the real picture of long-term care provision and funding as local authority and NHS commissioners. So co-ordination is about more than agency structures.

The government once called carers unsung heroes and promised to legislate to improve their lives. Reports on how many of the measures it has taken have been welcomed but extra cash to ease the acute financial difficulties many endure is still in short supply.

This video looks at the practical arrangements that need to be made around accessibility, support and payments to ensure that users and carers can participate in social work education and be rewarded for their input. The film will be useful for social work students, lecturers, tutors, social worker educators, people working more broadly in co-production/participation and service users and carers.

Payments for care, by which people in need of long-term care directly employ care workers, have been introduced in many European countries. In The Netherlands, care dependants are allowed to use these payments to hire relatives to perform care tasks. Care-givers who are employed by their relatives are in a hybrid position, because they are contracted as employees in the informal setting of a family home and its affective care relationships. This paper reports a qualitative study of relatives' experiences of payments for care and how these affect their care-giving.

This updated briefing looks at benefit changes that can make it easier for service users and carers to get involved in paid participation for social care consultations and events. It includes details of changes to simplify the process secured through legislation in 2009 and further legislative changes in 2013 and 2014.