Managing Your Individual Budget

This is often the aspect of self directed support which causes the most amount of controversy because people fail to understand that there are a number of ways for the money to be managed. The way that suits you best should be worked out during the support planning stage.

Some people may chose to manage the money themsleves and take a Direct Payment where money is transferred directly into a bank account for them to use for the purpose of their support.

While this option is recognised as the preferred one to maximise the level of control people have there are other options available if a Direct Payment is not what the person wants to do or if it isn't suitable.Here are some other ways to manage the money.

• Third Party Payment - the money is paid to someone else to manage on your behalf.
• Individual Service Fund - the money is paid directly to a provider who manages it for you.
• Local Authority Managed - The local authority holds the money and manages it for you.
• A Trust Managed - Some people have trusts who manage the money for them