Funding for Housekeepers

We know that funding differs from case to case and region to region, so please find below some useful information about types of funding that are available:
Putting People First (or the Personalisation Agenda) is the government’s response to transforming Adult Social Care in England over the next 10 years.
Personalisation means thinking about care and support services in an entirely different way, building care provision around the person as an individual with strengths, preferences and aspirations and putting them at the centre of the process of identifying their needs and making choices about what, who, how and when they are supported to live their lives. It requires a significant transformation of adult social care so that all systems, processes, staff and services are geared up to put people first.

The traditional service-led approach has often meant that people have not received the right help at the right time and have been unable to shape the kind of support they need.

Personalisation is about giving people much more choice and control over their lives in all social care settings and is far wider than simply giving personal budgets to people eligible for council funding. It includes advice and advocacy for service users to enable them to make good decisions about the support they need. It means ensuring that people have wider choice in how their needs are met and are able to access universal services such as transport, leisure and education, housing, health and opportunities for employment regardless of age or disability.

Direct Payments
If you need care in your own home you may be eligible to receive payments from either social services or the Independent Living Fund. Below is a brief outline of each.

Direct payments are monetary payments by local councils direct to individuals who have been assessed as needing care services, including those that find themselves caring for others.

Direct payments help people who want to manage their own support to improve their quality of life. They are designed to promote independence, choice and inclusion by enabling people to purchase the assistance or service that the council would otherwise provide, in order to live in their own homes, be fully involved in family and community life and to engage in work, education and leisure.

The government is eager to increase the number of people who receive direct payments, thereby increasing the number of people have access to the benefits that they bring. As such social services departments are now duty bound to consider direct payments for almost all service users who have been assessed as needing care.

What are the benefits of Direct Payment?
The direct payment system allows you to:

• Have a greater input into what care you need and is available for:
• Older and disabled people aged 16 and over, assessed as needing care.
• A person with parental responsibility for a child assessed as needing care.
• Carers aged 16 and over.

Can I manage a direct payment on my own?
As well as giving you the option of receiving a direct payment, social services will usually offer their own support services, or be able to refer you to a local support group, to help you set your care up. They may even be able to provide care for you whilst you arrange your own care. The type of services provided can be from a list of local domiciliary care providers to advice on writing your own job advertisements and employing your own staff. You are also entitled to enlist the help of a responsible individual of your choosing, which may be a close friend or relative, to help you manage the direct payment scheme.

What happens if the care provider I want to use charges more than my direct payment?
As you are effectively purchasing your own services, if you so wish, you can add your own funds to your direct payment to purchase services above the value of your direct payment. This allows you not only to buy your care from the person or organisation you prefer, but also to buy services in addition to those you care assessment states, should you wish to.

For further information on Direct Payments contact your local social services, or visit The DoH Easy Guide to Direct Payments.
Independent Living Funds

The Independent Living Funds were set up and are funded by central government. They are intended to support people with disabilities so they can live independently at home, rather than in residential care.

The funds make payments to people with disabilities so they can afford to employ personal assistants or a care agency to provide the support they need to remain at home. This care may include the employment and associated employment costs of personal assistants or care agencies to help you with personal domestic tasks in your home.

There are many things which the fund cannot be used to pay for, to understand what cannot be paid for with the fund, contact the fund direct on 0845 601 8815.

Am I eligible to receive payments from the Fund?
To be eligible to receive payments from the fund the person applying must:

• be a UK resident.
• be aged between 16 and 66.
• receive, or have underlying entitlement to, the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
• receive support from their Local Authority Social Services Department to the value of at least £200 per week.
• have capital of less than £18,500.
• expect to live at home independently for at least the next six months.

For further information on your eligibility contact the Independent Living Funds directly on 0845 601 8815, or visit www.ilf.org.uk or write to:
Independent Living Funds
PO Box 7525
Nottingham
NG2 4ZT

Benefits available to assist with 24 hour Live-in Care

The information below is intended to help you find benefits you may be entitled to. It is not a guide to the benefits themselves. More than one of the circumstances below may apply to you, and you may qualify for more than one benefit, especially if you have low savings and income. Whilst we do our best to be current with information we cannot guarantee its accuracy. 

 The disabled person can apply the following benefits in their own right:
Incapacity Benefit
Incapacity Benefit for persons incapacitated in
Youth 
Income Support *
The Social Fund *
Housing Benefit *
Council Tax Benefit *
Health Benefits *
Working Tax Credit*
Disability Living Allowance
Carer’s Allowance*
* NB these benefits can also be applied for by persons without disabilities

For more information please contact your local benefits office on: 0845 712 3456