Self-Directed Support was built to give people more control. But having control doesn't mean that people have to manage the cash themselves (a Direct Payment). There are at least six ways that someone can manage the budget.
Six ways to manage an Individual Budget:
1. By the person - by a direct payment
2. By a representative - by an indirect payment
3. By family and friends - through a trust fund
4. By an independent organisation - a form of brokerage
5. By a service provider - through an Individual Service Fund
6. By a professional - e.g. a social worker or 'Budget-holding Lead Professional'
The diagram below summarises the six ways of managing a Budget.
Individual budgets are part of the self-directed support model. The term 'individual budgets' refers to the money that people use flexibly to buy support or other things they need to meet the outcomes they have identified in their support plans.
How much money people are entitled to is determined by the completion of the Self Assesment Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ is part of the Resource Allocation System (RAS) that local authorities produce when introducing the self-directed support model.
Once completed, the SAQ results in a score, a number of points, that equates to an indicative amount that is the individual budget. People are then able to plan how to use their individual budget. Once someone's plan has been agreed by the local authority care manager, they are given their individual budget to manage themselves.
This information has been kindly provided by the "in Control" charity.
Find out more about self-directed support on the in Control website.
