Your personal budget

This is the amount of money needed to pay for the support you described in your support plan.
If we're contributing towards the cost of your support we must agree your support plan before you receive our contribution. If you are using your own money, we won’t need to agree your support plan.

Find out more about paying for care

You might be entitled to money from other sources, such as Supporting People, the Independent Living Fund (ILF) or Access to Work. We can help you to apply for funding.
You can take as much control as you want over the money in your personal budget. However, if it is not appropriate for you to manage your personal budget or do not wish to manage it yourself we can manage it on your behalf.

Direct payments and different ways of managing your budget

If we contribute towards your budget, we can provide the money to buy some or all of the support you need using Direct Payments. Advice and information about managing a direct payment is provided in Buckinghamshire by:
POhWER
PO Box 14043, Birmingham, B6 9BL
Telephone – 0300 0200 092 (charged at local rate)
Minicom – 0300 456 2346
Text – send your name and number to 81025 and they will call you back
E-mail – pohwer@pohwer.net
Skype – pohwer.advocacy
Fax – 0300 456 2365

Over time, your support needs might change eg you've gained some independence, your health has improved or got worse, or your informal support has changed. You’ll need to tell us if this happens so we can help you work out how to change your support. You may need to make some changes to your support plan or complete a new assessment questionnaire so that you continue to get the right amount of money to pay for your support.

There are five ways of managing a direct payment. You can choose which is best for you.

1 - Payment card

This works like a debit card. It's issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland and designed to be used by people who get Direct Payments. It replaces paper cheques and cash. It removes the need to open a bank account and makes it easier to buy services and to manage and monitor accounts.

2- Someone can act on your behalf

A nominated person can look after the money and take responsibility for making payments. This person should be recorded in your support plan and in your budget agreement as your agent. They'll hold the payment card in their name.

3 - Independent voluntary organisation/community broker

A voluntary organisation can hold our financial contribution on your behalf. We work with POhWER who give advice on all aspects of Direct Payments. They'll always put you at the centre of any decisions made and have the authority to buy and manage your support. They have to record how they spend this money and show they have only used the money to pay for what has been agreed in your support plan. This is a called a third party payment.

4 - Managed by a Trust

This is made up of three or more people, known as Trustees to manage someone else’s money. This commitment is written up into a Trust Deed. The deed creates the legal duties and responsibilities for the Trustees. All Trustees are individually named and must sign the document with an independent witness for verification. The deed needs to clearly reflect the purpose for which it has been created and the power of the trustees.

5 - Managed by Buckinghamshire County Council

If you don't want to manage your personal budget and would prefer us to arrange all your care needs then we will manage it on your behalf.

We will use the organisations we already have contracts with to provide your care and support eg if you need homecare this will be provided either by our inhouse team or by one of our four external agencies (depending on where you live and the level of help you need).