Direct Payments

Direct payments can be a great way for people with learning disabilities and their parents/carers to have more choice and control with their care and support.

Social Care Wales has issued guidance that covers the flexible use of Direct Payments during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Please follow this link to see the guidance.

If a service or activity would help to support you to achieve your wellbeing outcomes, you may be able to use direct payments to pay for them.

If you are eligible for direct payments, there is support available to help you use them in the best way for you. This support looks a little different in different areas, so you will need to talk to your social worker or support worker about what help is available to you.

Lots of people use their direct payments to pay for a Personal Assistant (a PA). This year we are going to be working with Flintshire County Council Direct Payments Team to create a ‘portal’ to make it easier for people to find the PA that best suits them.

Direct payments can be used for lots more than PAs. Disability Wales have made this useful guide, which includes examples of different ways direct payments can be managed and spent. Some people may choose to ‘pool’ their direct payments.

The Disability Wales guide explains how you can do this as part of setting up a co-operative – but this is not the only way you can pool your direct payments with other people.

Flintshire County Council have made a handy guide  to pooling direct payments, which includes advice, templates and positive examples.

The Wales Cooperative has produced some useful guides around direct payments, including an easy read guide to direct payments, a fact sheet about cooperatives and a fact sheet about how PA’s can come together to form a cooperative.

This year we are also going to be piloting some workshops and training around ‘support brokerage’ with the National Brokerage Network.