Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household

If a council has agreed to allow a direct payment budget holder to spend it on employing a relative living with them, is the NHS duty bound to uphold that when CHC takes over, or can they disregard it? Thus forcing the needy person to use outside carers?

Leave a Comment / Care Planning and reviews for CHC patients in light of Public Law Principles, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Due process requirements associated with Direct Payments and Health Budgets, Employing family members with a Direct Payment or health budget, How NHS services and Continuing NHS Health Care fit in with the Care Act, NHS CHC/ICB Q&As, Personal Health Budgets, Personal Health Budgets, Managed PHBs and cash PHBs, Q&As on NHS CHC/ICB, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household, What it means to ask for a Direct Payment or PHB under the Care Act, the Mental Health Act and NHS Continuing Healthcare /

The NHS is not bound by the view that the local authority took to this issue, but must conscientiously take account of the council’s reasoning at the time, in the light of the evidence presented to the council first time around. That is what public law principles would require. The NHS Framework for CHC says […]

If a council has agreed to allow a direct payment budget holder to spend it on employing a relative living with them, is the NHS duty bound to uphold that when CHC takes over, or can they disregard it? Thus forcing the needy person to use outside carers? Read More »

Could you give a link to the Government legislation regarding Direct Payment Rates for paying Personal Assistants? Particularly regarding and how much (or little) lee-way individual councils have in saying how much carers can be paid?

Leave a Comment / Assessment and Eligibility, Being an Authorised Person for holding a direct payment or PHB for someone else's benefit, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Carer Q&As, Difference between the Direct Payment/PHB function and contracts between the holder and the service provider/employee, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Direct Payments Q&As, Discretionary charging for meeting a person's needs under the Care Act, Duties and Discretions, Professional judgment versus discretion in the context of duties and powers under the Care Act, Q&As on Direct Payments, Q&As on Informal Carers, Relevance of other agencies' duties for meeting need under s18 or s19 of the Care Act, The conditions applicable to a Direct Payment under the Care Act compared to those applicable to PHBs, The duty to act under the Care and Support Guidance (and other such Codes or Frameworks), The law about the content of the Care Plan under the Care Act, The range of services or items on which a direct payment or PHB can lawfully be spent and those on which it cannot be spent, The range of services, items, facilities and responses able to be provided under the Care Act, The rights of carers, in relation to health and social care services and support, Universal duties to meet eligible unmet needs adequately and appropriately, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household, What it means to ask for a Direct Payment or PHB under the Care Act, the Mental Health Act and NHS Continuing Healthcare /

No, there is no such easy solution possible, we are sorry to say. ‘A link to the legislation’ would involve the Care Act, the Direct Payment regulations and employment law obligations – which are another part of the law altogether – but the real problem is that the question you ask is a nuanced question

Could you give a link to the Government legislation regarding Direct Payment Rates for paying Personal Assistants? Particularly regarding and how much (or little) lee-way individual councils have in saying how much carers can be paid? Read More »

I live with my twin brother who requires a lot of personal care (Aspergers, MECFS and had a massive stroke in 2018) but over the last two years it’s been impossible to recruit and retain PAs, because where we live is quite rural and his needs are demanding and unpredictable. We have a family friend who uses his direct payments to pay for his family who live with him for the care they give, so we asked the social worker if I could be paid to care for my brother while we live together. The social worker said it could be agreed because of the situation, but she told me if I received pay to care and my brother (who owns the house) needed to go into a care home at some point in the future they would be able to force the sale of the house to pay for his care, meaning I’d be made homeless and lose my inheritance. Is this true?

Leave a Comment / Appropriateness, Sufficiency and Transparency of a care plan, Assessment and Eligibility, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Carer Q&As, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Eligibility Findings Q&As, Employing family members with a Direct Payment or health budget, Housing Q&As, How housing rights fit in with the Care Act, Public law principles relevant to Care Planning, Q&As on Eligibility for funding or services, Q&As on Housing, Q&As on Informal Carers, Supported Living and Care, The rights of carers, in relation to health and social care services and support, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

This is really more of a referral than a one off question, but at a level of PRINCIPLE we can say this: A person with a direct payment which is insufficient to recruit PAs shoulda) challenge the sufficiency of the personal budget, evidencing the efforts they have made to recruitb) ask the council to agree

I live with my twin brother who requires a lot of personal care (Aspergers, MECFS and had a massive stroke in 2018) but over the last two years it’s been impossible to recruit and retain PAs, because where we live is quite rural and his needs are demanding and unpredictable. We have a family friend who uses his direct payments to pay for his family who live with him for the care they give, so we asked the social worker if I could be paid to care for my brother while we live together. The social worker said it could be agreed because of the situation, but she told me if I received pay to care and my brother (who owns the house) needed to go into a care home at some point in the future they would be able to force the sale of the house to pay for his care, meaning I’d be made homeless and lose my inheritance. Is this true? Read More »

Is it possible for an unpaid carer to claim costs for the time spend in administering the financial affairs of the cared for person – such as preparing DRE evidence?

Leave a Comment / Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Charging and financial assessment, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Disability Related Expenditure, DRE Q&As, Intro to Ombudsman reports RE disability related expenditure, Q&As on Disability Related Expenditure, The range of services or items on which a direct payment or PHB can lawfully be spent and those on which it cannot be spent, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

The only costs an unpaid carer that can be ‘claimed’ (ie asked for)  are the costs of administering the person’s direct payment under this regulation here, Conditions which must apply to the making of direct payments  3.—(1) Direct payments must be made subject to the condition that they must not be used to pay any

Is it possible for an unpaid carer to claim costs for the time spend in administering the financial affairs of the cared for person – such as preparing DRE evidence? Read More »

I have an existing care package via direct payments and require a substantial amount of day and night care, and to better meet my needs and keep costs down, my local council have agreed to pay my cohabiting sibling to provide the majority of my care. However, the council now claims that they do not have to pay for any night care provided by my sibling, despite this being an assessed need and knowing I require a minimum of four interventions during the night. My sibling has made it clear they are not able to provide night time care unpaid, but this is being ignored by the council. Is this lawful practice?

Leave a Comment / Appropriateness, Sufficiency and Transparency of a care plan, Assessment and Eligibility, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Direct Payments Q&As, Due process requirements associated with Direct Payments and Health Budgets, Employing family members with a Direct Payment or health budget, Legality, unlawfulness and error of law in the context of care planning, Public law principles relevant to Care Planning, Q&As on Direct Payments, The legal position regarding carers' decisions to withdraw or reduce informal care provision, The rights of carers, in relation to health and social care services and support, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

This is more of a matter suited to a referral, because important facets of this problem may make a big difference. The answer on the facts provided is that if you need active intervention at night that would involve someone who is not sleeping in the same bed as yourself, to get up and deal

I have an existing care package via direct payments and require a substantial amount of day and night care, and to better meet my needs and keep costs down, my local council have agreed to pay my cohabiting sibling to provide the majority of my care. However, the council now claims that they do not have to pay for any night care provided by my sibling, despite this being an assessed need and knowing I require a minimum of four interventions during the night. My sibling has made it clear they are not able to provide night time care unpaid, but this is being ignored by the council. Is this lawful practice? Read More »

Should Councils take into account when considering whether Direct Payments should be paid to a cohabiting family member the question whether that will deliver best value or is the decision purely based on whether that set up would best meet the needs?

Leave a Comment / Assessment and Eligibility, Assessment under the Care Act, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Direct Payments Q&As, Discretionary charging for meeting a person's needs under the Care Act, Duties and Discretions, Employing family members with a Direct Payment or health budget, Legal rules as to what must be considered on Assessment, Q&As on Direct Payments, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

The general position is that it’s prohibited to use direct payments on spouses etc and listed close family members living in the same household.  The discretion to depart from the general position is based on necessity, which does not obviously import questions of cost.  Then again, cost is not excluded, and the cost of care

Should Councils take into account when considering whether Direct Payments should be paid to a cohabiting family member the question whether that will deliver best value or is the decision purely based on whether that set up would best meet the needs? Read More »

Must an asserted need to employ a cohabiting family member be evidenced medically or should historic issues with alternative means of care be enough to say it’s necessary?

Leave a Comment / Article 8 the right to respect for home, family, private life and correspondence, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Direct Payments Q&As, Employing family members with a Direct Payment or health budget, Human Rights relevant to Care Planning, Q&As on Direct Payments, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

Necessity for using the direct payment to pay a listed family member living in the same household – (it being the normal position that this is prohibited by the Direct Payment regulations so that councils get as much free informal care as possible) does not need to be medically evidenced, and we can’t see how

Must an asserted need to employ a cohabiting family member be evidenced medically or should historic issues with alternative means of care be enough to say it’s necessary? Read More »

Is it lawful for councils to refuse to pay family members who are providing paid care via a Direct Payment market rate or above National Minimum Wage?

Leave a Comment / Appropriateness, Sufficiency and Transparency of a care plan, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Charging and financial assessment, Contractual matters, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Direct Payments Q&As, Employing family members with a Direct Payment or health budget, Exception-making and discrimination, Fees Issues with the Public Sector, Fettering and Exception making, Issues of importance to social care service providers, Public law principles relevant to Care Planning, Q&As on Direct Payments, The conditions applicable to a Direct Payment under the Care Act compared to those applicable to PHBs, The right to charge for social care, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

It is not lawful for any employer to pay less than the National Minimum Wage, so the direct payment cannot be less than that, but the counting rules and rules about sleeping time can make it difficult to identify if that is in fact happening. The employer’s responsibility is absolute, regardless of what the council

Is it lawful for councils to refuse to pay family members who are providing paid care via a Direct Payment market rate or above National Minimum Wage? Read More »

What insurance do you need if you employ care workers on a personal budget?

Leave a Comment / Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Direct Payments Q&As, Due process requirements associated with Direct Payments and Health Budgets, Employing family members with a Direct Payment or health budget, Q&As on Direct Payments, Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

You need Employer’s Liability cover, unless the person is a mentioned family member. The following employees are excepted:  husband, wife, civil partner, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, step-father, step-mother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister. It is a CRIMINAL (not Civil) offence to employ someone without having this insurance in place.

What insurance do you need if you employ care workers on a personal budget? Read More »

Disability discrimination

Leave a Comment / Being an Authorised Person for holding a direct payment or PHB for someone else's benefit, Care Planning, Budgets and Choice Rights, Direct Payments and Personal Health Budgets, Historical, Historical Equality, Options for management of a Direct Payment or PHB and options for getting help to manage it, The legal issues when a Direct Payment/PHB cannot or will not be used (hospital stays, lockdown, holidays, etc), Using a Direct Payment or PHB to pay Close Family Members in the same household /

Originally, the approach to a prohibition on discrimination in England and Wales developed due to the UK’s membership of the European Economic Community, and as such centred very much on outlawing differential treatment on the basis of race and sex, in the economic area of employment and service provision. Over the last twenty years the

Disability discrimination Read More »