Personal budgets

If you have a learning difficulty, or are a friend or family member of someone with a learning difficulty, this is an exciting time.  This is because local councils are introducing personal budgets, which mean that people with a learning difficulty can choose for themselves how to spend the money that is allocated to meet their needs.

When the local council have agreed what your needs are, they will tell you how much money you will have to spend.  You can decide how to spend it.  The money can be spent on things like:

• Support from staff employed by a support provider
• Employing your own staff
• Aids and adaptations to your home
• Leisure activities
• Computer equipment that helps you communicate or be more independent

As well as the personal budget from the local council, you may also be entitled to Housing Benefit or Local Housing Allowance to pay the rent for a house or flat, and to Income Support and Disabled Living Allowance, to pay for your food, clothing, transport, and other costs.  You may also be able to get help with going to college, or with getting a job.

When you have your personal budget, you can ask the local council to arrange the support and other things that you want.  Or you can spend the budget yourself, with the help of your family.  A third option is to have the help of a Service Broker or Provider Broker.  These are organisations that will help you to create your own person-centred support plan, and then help you arrange the services and support that you have asked for.

The whole point of personal budgets is so that you can have as much control over your own life as possible, and have the support that you need to live your life in the way that you want.

For more information

For more information about how we can help, please contact us.

To find out how Care UK can help you to set up your own support plan, click here.