What is a Direct Payment?
Direct Payments offer you more choice and control over how your support is provided and who provides it. You can make changes to your care and support to suit you. Through direct payments you can decide to employ your own carers. If you employ staff directly these are called personal assistants. The Direct Payment Support Service can help with all aspects of recruiting and employing personal assistants.
Assessment and help
We will arrange for a social care assessment and a financial assessment. The law says that any financial support that we give you must be means-tested.
If you are worried about managing the direct payment yourself, you can request a ‘nominated person’ to help you.
If you have difficulty making decisions about your care and support needs or managing money to pay for your care, we will complete further assessments and identify a ‘suitable person’ to receive the direct payment.
Making payments
We will set up an allpay bank account for you and a debit card will be issued. You can use the card in person, over the telephone or to buy things online. It’s safe, secure and convenient and is easier than withdrawing cash.
Direct payments are tax free and will not affect any benefits you may be receiving.
It is important that the direct payments are spent as agreed in your care and support plan. We will review the information from the allpay account and will write to you to request information about how the money is spent on your care and support needs.
More about our Direct Payments scheme
We are here to help make sure that you have all the support you need to be safe and to do what is most important to you.
In most cases, we can help you unlock the support available from your family, friends and neighbours and link you up with what is going on in your community. Sometimes, this will need to be topped up with some extra money, so that you can buy any additional care you need to lead a full life. Direct Payments are the way that we give you the money to do this, helping to keep you in control of your care and support.
What Direct Payments offer you
Direct Payments offer you more choice and control over how your support is provided and who provides it. You can make changes to your care and support to suit you.
We will arrange for a social care assessment and a financial assessment. The law says that any financial support that we give you must be means-tested. This means that we have to carry out a financial assessment to work out how much you have to pay towards the cost of your care. This will deducted from your Direct Payment amount.
We will carry out a light-touch or full financial assessment, depending on your circumstances, and the Direct Payment can start as soon as your contribution has been agreed.
allpay bank account
To make receiving a Direct Payment as easy as possible, we will set up an allpay bank account, which comes with a debit card. You can use the card in person, over the telephone or to buy things online. It’s safe, secure and convenient and is easier than withdrawing cash.
With an allpay bank account and card we can ensure that the Direct Payments are being spent on your care and support. This reduces paperwork as we will have records of spending on the account and means you won’t have to send us evidence. We will cover the cost of setting up and running the allpay bank account and card.
Setting up Direct Payments
- Your Social Worker or Independence Advisor will give you a Direct Payment agreement, which you will need to sign and return to us. It is a contract between you and the council and tells you what your responsibilities are. The sooner you return this, the sooner we can get going
- After this the allpay bank account and debit card will be set up. A financial assessment will be completed so that we can work out whether you need to pay anything towards the cost of your care and support. If this is the case, this will be deducted before the payment is made into the account
- The payments will be set up and paid monthly, usually on or around the 15th of the month. The payments will vary each month, depending on how many days there are in the month
- We will agree your Care and Support Plan with you and this will set out how the money should be used to keep you safe and help you do what is important to you to lead a full life
- Once it’s all set up, we’ll keep an eye on your allpay bank account so that we can be sure that the money is being used to meet your needs, which we have to do by law. We will let you know if we need anything else from you and will carry out regular reviews to make sure that it’s all running smoothly
Real experiences of using Direct Payments
Chris How
SHOW
“Without Direct Payments my life couldn’t be the way it is. That’s quite a big statement, but it’s allowing me to be independent, to do what I want to do, to go where I want to go, and to live as an independent adult away from my parents.
“It enables them to have their lives, and for us to have a family relationship rather than a carer and supported relationship. That’s the most crucial thing Direct Payments gives me.”
Nicky Wood
SHOW
“I’ve been receiving direct payments again for just over a year now. The main benefit of the scheme is that I
can maintain an independent life, with some support. I am able to choose what time, day and who I have the
support from.
“I choose my own care staff for mornings and daytime support. This way I can choose for myself what times I want to do things, and with which of my carers, as each individual has their own benefits to add to my care. Also, employing my own carers allows me to get the cover I need when there are holidays or sickness.”
David and Kim Cruse
SHOW
“We’ve had some great support from the team at the Council when we were setting up Direct Payments. The allpay card is really easy to use.
“Although we’ve never had to, we now have the confidence to change care providers as and when we need to. Direct Payments allows us to manage our own decisions about who we use.”
Denise Fullbrook
SHOW
“I had a support plan drawn up by a social worker, looking at what I wanted to achieve and how Direct Payments would assist me. I found it hard to talk about the things I can’t do and Colin had to be there to help me.
“Once I was all set up all I had to do was interview and make a decision about who I would like to support me. It was great."
Mr and Mrs Pathak
SHOW
“I decide which care agency to choose and can use more than one agency if needed. Direct Payments give us the freedom of choice to live independent lives.”
The above information is also available in our direct payments leaflet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the allpay account and card?
SHOW
The allpay account is the best way to manage the money side of a Direct Payment. Under this arrangement, a separate bank account is set up for you by Southampton City Council, who then make payments into it on a monthly basis. You can then pay for the things in your support plan from this account. If you choose to use an allpay account for your Direct Payment, you won’t need to submit as much paperwork to us, as we can view a record of the transactions made on the account at any time.
We advise against withdrawing cash to pay carers or care services. If you withdraw and use cash for any payments you would be required to keep receipts as proof and submit this to Southampton City Council.
What kind of things can Direct Payments be used for?
SHOW
- Assistance in making meals and drinks or with eating and drinking
- Personal care and assistance
- Leisure activities such as socialising, sports, classes or groups
- Respite
- Specialist equipment that is not funded through the NHS to enable more independence and prevent the need for more care in the future
- Support if your main carer is not available
Who can have an allpay account?
SHOW
You will need to have the mental capacity to give consent to receiving a Direct Payment and choosing to have the account and debit card. If you are not able to make social care decisions and manage money, a suitable person can manage the Direct Payment and can be issued with an allpay card which is linked to your account. The person helping you would need to have a suitable person’s assessment to ensure they can manage the Direct Payment for you.
Do I need a bank account?
SHOW
No. The card has its own bank account which you can see and use as if it were your own. You can check and manage your account online at any time.
Can I use my card to withdraw cash at an ATM or for cashback?
SHOW
You can withdraw up to £50 per day from an ATM displaying the MasterCard® acceptance mark. Cashback is not permitted. The council advises against cash withdrawals to pay carers and care services.
Are there any restrictions on where I can use my card?
SHOW
You can make purchases at shops as you would with any debit card. allpay prepaid cards cannot be used at pubs, nightclubs and off-licences, as well as for betting and gambling (including lottery tickets and casinos), dating and escort services, massage parlours and health spas, pawn shops and tobacco stores.
Is there a charge for this card?
SHOW
There are no charges to the cardholder for using the card.
How do I manage my card?
SHOW
You can check your balance and transactions:
- Online – by visiting allpay - My Prepaid Card Portal - this service is free
- Telephone – by calling Customer Services on 0330 808 0102. This service will cost the same as a local rate call from your landline or mobile
How is money loaded onto my card?
SHOW
Southampton City Council will make payments into your allpay bank account on 15th of the month. If you are required to make a personal contribution for your care, you should pay this by standing order into the allpay bank account.
If you require assistance you can:
Visit: allpay - My Prepaid Card Portal
Phone: Customer Services on 0844 225 5729
How can I change my PIN?
SHOW
You can change your PIN by calling Customer Services and at any UK ATM where this service is available.
Phone: Customer Services on 0844 225 5729
Can I pay other people using my card?
SHOW
Yes, you can set up payments to third party bank accounts by using Faster Payment and Direct Debit:
Visit: allpay - My Prepaid Card Portal
Phone: Customer Services on 0844 225 5729
How do I set up a Direct Debit?
SHOW
You can set up a Direct Debit by quoting the sort-code and account number associated with the card to your service provider. Funds will be debited from your card by 2pm on the date that the Direct Debit is due. Sufficient funds must available on the card to pay a Direct Debit that is due.
Can I go overdrawn?
SHOW
You can only use the funds that are available in your account. Your card will be declined if there are not enough funds on the card for the transaction you are attempting. If for any reason a transaction is processed that exceeds your available funds, allpay may block your card, and the council will require you to repay the amount owing immediately.
Can I get my funds back if I want to cancel the card or no longer need it?
SHOW
Funds on your card will be returned to Southampton City Council in the first instance. If you are on Direct Payments and have made a financial contribution which was paid into the account, the council will return it to you.
Will you carry out a credit check when I apply for a card?
SHOW
We will not carry out a credit check; however, we will carry out checks to verify your identity and address prior to you being given a card. These searches will not impact upon your credit record; however the search may leave an indicator, called an ‘enquiry’ that such a search has been performed.
How is my personal information and privacy protected?
SHOW
We safeguard your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and
applicable law. Please refer to allpay’s Privacy Policy.
The above information is also available in our FAQs sheet.
Further support and contact information
Enham Trust can provide further support and advice with Direct Payments.
You can also contact Southampton City Council.
