What are Direct Payments and Individual Budgets?
Individual Budgets and Direct Payments are not the same thing, nor are they competing ideas. In a system of Self-Directed Spport everybody is given an Individual Budget and some people decide to manage their Budget as a Direct Payment. Someone has a Direct Payment when their local authority provides them with cash instead of a service; the person then purchases their own support directly. A Direct Payment, in other words is a way of managing your social care money. An Individual Budget is more than this. You have an Individual Budget when you know how much money you can spend. You know what outcomes you are aiming to achieve, and can decide exactly how and when that money is spent. Early work with children, young people and their families suggests that high numbers of people do choose to manage their budget as either a Direct Payment or Indirect Payment. Some people choose to mix and match – part Direct Payment, part direct service. This is fine, if it is what the person chooses.
