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Family carers managing personal budgets for adults with learning disabilities or autism

Accessible summary Direct payments can help people with learning disabilities or autism to have good support. Often, family carers manage the direct payments for people who would find this very difficult. We asked family carers who managed direct payments to tell us why they decided to do this and what their experiences were. Family carers told us they found managing direct payments difficult and stressful at first, but this got easier over time. They also said that direct payments helped their family members to have more person-centred support.

Tue, 03/23/2021 - 11:00

When and how should relatives be paid through a direct payment?

Family members are delivering unpaid care to loved-ones because direct payments are insufficient to hire staff, writes Belinda Schwehr. 

Tue, 05/14/2019 - 20:06

Personalisation, personal budgets and family carers. Whose assessment? Whose budget?

Summary: The policy of personalisation in English adult social care prioritises choice and control by service users over the support they receive. Carers also have rights to assessments and support, but these rights have developed separately, so interdependencies between carers and service users may be overlooked. Moreover, it may be difficult to reconcile these divergent policies in routine practice.

Tue, 05/14/2019 - 10:04

The impact of personal budgets on unpaid carers of older people

Summary: This paper focuses on the impact of a personal budget – either in the form of a direct payment or managed personal budget – on the role of unpaid carers of older budget holders. Data were collected via postal survey of 1500 unpaid carers and semi-structured interviews with 31 carers. Findings: Unpaid carers played a central role in supporting older budget holders irrespective of the type of budget received.

Sun, 05/05/2019 - 19:49

Do Personal Budgets Increase the Risk of Abuse? Evidence from English National Data

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.

Mon, 04/08/2019 - 15:47

The role of family carers in the use of personal budgets by people with mental health problems

Personal budgets aim to increase choice and independence for people with social care needs but they remain underused by people with mental health problems compared to other disability groups. The use of personal budgets may impact on families in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. This paper draws on interviews, undertaken in 2012-2013 with 18 family carers and 12 mental health service users, that explored experiences of family involvement in accessing and managing personal budgets for a person with mental health-related social care needs.

Tue, 10/16/2018 - 16:49

Organising and supporting direct payments

This case study gives an example of a well-established direct payments service, managed by Hampshire County Council in partnership with users of direct payments, carers and voluntary sector support agencies.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:24

Services, but at a price

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.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:24

A critical consideration of the cash for care agenda and its implications for social services in Wales

This paper considers cash for care as reflected in direct payments and the more recent development of individual budgets in England. While the momentum to roll out individual budgets gathers pace in England, Wales has embarked on a more cautious approach in wishing to evaluate the impact of individual budgets on social services. The paper identifies some of the far reaching implications of cash for care in general and individual budgets in particular, for service users, carers ‐ both paid and informal ‐ and for the social work profession.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:20

Private members bill will give carers right to assessments

Looks at a new private members bill which may give carers more assistance with their caring duties.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:16

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