Personal Budgets

A lot to think about!

Glyn Connolly Lead Officer Short Breaks &

Personalisation

Nottinghamshire County Council

Introduction to Personal Budgets

• What is a Personal Budget?

• Social Care

• Health Care

• Education

• Some more things to think about

Key points in draft legislation

–extends rights and protections to young people aged 16-25

–offers families and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan the option of a personal budget so that they have more control over the support they need

A Personal Budget is• The agreed amount of money (resources)

available to meet the outcomes identified in the education, health and care plan

• The 3 elements - education, health and social care - can be put together where eligibility is met into a single personal budget

• Some elements may be taken as a Direct Payment

There are four ways to have a Personal Budget

1. Direct payments - where individuals receive the funds to contract, purchase and manage services themselves. Please see Nottinghamshire County Council’s Direct Payments Handbook for more details

2. An organised arrangement – where Nottinghamshire County Council, schools, colleges or health services hold the funds and commission the support specified in the EHC plan. (These are sometimes called notional budgets)

3. Third party arrangements through nominees – where funds are paid to and managed by a charity or another organisation on behalf of the child’s parent or the young person. The third party assumes responsibility for all the financial arrangements

4. A combination of the above

Social Care (SC)• Any Nottinghamshire adult in receipt of ongoing SC is

offered a personal budget

• 91% of service users have a personal budget. 34% take this as a Direct Payment

• Disabled Children’s Social Care have around 260 families receiving a Direct Payment and this is growing

• Personalised planning used in short breaks - some families are having a personal budget via a direct payment

• Have a well established Direct Payment system

Personal Health Budget

• Child has to meet Continuing Care eligibility (about 70 children in the county)

• From 2015, long term conditions. What this will include is yet to be announced

• April 2014 right to ask, October 2014 right to have

• Some families have had a joint package with social care for several years

Education & Personal Budgets• Must have an EHCP

• Not for a school place

• Funds available only through High Needs Block and have to be agreed

• Transport may be a staring point

• Other funds would have to be negotiated with school/college

What can the money spent on?

• To meet the outcomes agreed in the plan we should encourage creative solutions– Education outcome– Heath and wellbeing outcome– Social Care outcome

What the money cannot be spent on

•Alcohol, tobacco or gambling

•Debt repayment

•Anything illegal

•To buy full time accommodation

•A school placement, anything that health provide as a universal service, any local authority in-house service

•Employing a relative who lives in the same house (Direct Payment statutory guidance 2009)

Case Example Anne

• Most professionals worry about the risks and what can go wrong with personal budgets and direct payments

1st - On your tables read the case example and list what could go wrong.

2nd – Pick one and come up with some solutions to reduce the risk.

So what could go wrong?

• Poor budget management (what happens when people make

poor judgements)

• Deliberate budget mismanagement (who does the risk

assessment and has responsibility)

• Poor service provision (how do families know it’s a bad service and

who has responsibility)

• Abuse (maybe a target for abusers)

Local Authority Statutory duties – Children Act 1998 still apply

Adapted from brownjacobson presentation 18th Oct 2011

When it works

• A different short break

• Riding for the disabled 3hrs on a Saturday rather than a befriender through a provider

• 8 weeks later e-mail from Mum– Improved self-esteem– Improved confidence– Improved muscle tone – Family very happy with the break

Questions?