Click here for Important Information about Direct Payments Support in Hampshire

What are Direct Payments?

Direct Payments enables Social Services to provide support to enable Disabled People, who need personal assistance, to live their own independent lifestyle by providing the finance to enable Disabled People to either employ their own personal assistants or to pay an agency of their choice.

Direct Payments enable Disabled People to recruit, organise and pay for their own staff, enabling them to exercise choice and control over their lives, deciding who works for them, how and when.

Who can get Direct Payments?

• People over 16, to purchase services they are assessed as needing in the way that suits them
• Carers, to purchase services they are assessed as needing to support them in their caring role, or to maintain their own health and well-being

The Direct Payments Support Workers at SCIL ensure that Disabled People have the information and any support they need in applying for and using the scheme. We publish a range of information and advice on Direct Payments, recruiting and employing Personal Assistants, including a Guide to Direct Payments, which is a toolkit that aims to cover most aspects of using and managing Direct Payments. In the information and advice section there are also some templates for record keeping.

Background to Direct Payments

Hampshire (now split into 3 local authorities), was the first local authority in the country to offer Disabled People money to enable them to employ their own staff to meet their own needs in their own ways.

SCIL has been involved since its outset in promoting the concept of independent living, through the scheme and since 1995 in employing support workers with experience of independent living issues to promote, advise and support Disabled People on the scheme and those interested in the scheme.

Information on the Direct Payments Scheme, advice sheets, discussion forum and useful links can be found on the Hampshire Direct Payments Scheme (HDPS) Website and you can get support and advice from the Direct Payments Support Workers at SCIL (contact details listed below).

SCIL has a policy to ensure that all information is available in Large print, Audio tape, Braille and Computer disk formats on request.

Contact Information

To find out more about Direct Payments please contact us:

General info:

directpayments@southamptoncil.co.uk

Teresa Burnage: teresa@southamptoncil.co.uk

Tel: (023) 8033 0982

Southampton:

Jeremy Long-Price: Jeremy@southamptoncil.co.uk

Tel: (023) 8033 0982