Plain Facts Print Version
listen here

Getting Control of your Direct Payment

Social Services can give you money to buy the support and services you want. This is called a Direct Payment. A Direct Payment means that you are in control. Plain Facts 10 tells you more about Direct Payments.

Tony Ryan, Andrew Holman and Catherine Bewley did a project about why people with learning difficulties find it hard to get Direct Payments. They found:

picture of a person holding a ten pound note

The Government says Social Services must make sure that you get the help you need to get Direct Payments. In some places people with learning difficulties are getting the help they need. In other places it is hard for people to get their Direct Payments.

Some Social Services say that Direct Payments are too hard for people with learning difficulties to understand. But most people can understand about Direct Payments if they get good support and information.

Having a Direct Payment involves managing money. Lots of people need help to manage money. It's OK to get help to do this. But some Social Services think that if you need help with money you cannot have Direct Payments.
  Even if you need lots of help, information and support you can still have Direct Payments.