'Direct payments put me in control' - Catherine

Hear how taking control of your own care arrangements can transform your life. Cathering Young, who has multiple sclerosis (MS) employs a personal assistant to help manage your day to day life. More people who are eligible for adult care services from Brighton & Hove City Council are set to take control of their own care budgets and choose for themselves the support services that best meet their individual needs. The new national Care Act asks local authorities to promote ‘Direct Payments’. This is a way of putting people who are assessed as needing adult care support in control of choosing which services they need – and who delivers them.

Rather than simply accepting services offered by the council to meet your assessed needs, Direct Payments’ means the council agrees a care budget with you and then lets you take charge of what it is spent on to meet your needs.

There are certain restrictions about who can provide the support and care, and obviously you can’t spend it on things like gambling or alcohol. #careandsupport #careact