Personal budgets

A personal budget is a clear, upfront amount of money. It's identified by the local authority that can be used to arrange support. This includes some of the support agreed in your child or young person's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The amount that your child/young person gets depends on the needs and outcomes identified in their plan. This is decided through an Education, Health and Care Assessment or at the review of an EHCP.

A personal budget must be used to meet the outcomes that are set out in a child or young person's EHCP.

Mythbusters

• A personal budget is not additional money
• It is not the total sum of all the money that is used to support a child or young person with an EHCP
• The local authority does not need to list all the costs associated with supporting a child or young person. Just the parts that parents can have control over

The purpose of personal budgets

Personal budgets give you more choice and control over the services that your child/young person receives.

Personal budgets are a choice. You don't have to use a personal budget if you don't think it's the best option for your child and family.

Ways that you can manage a personal budget

If your child is eligible for a personal budget, you will have the choice of how to manage it. This could be:

• Direct payments – where you or your young person receive the money to contract, purchase and manage the services yourselves
• An arrangement – where the local authority, school or college holds the funds and arranges the support specified in the plan
• Third party arrangements – where the money is paid to an individual or organisation and managed on your behalf
• A combination of these options

You and your assessment co-ordinator will make the decision on which option is best. This decision will be included in the EHCP.

In some circumstances the choice of a direct payment may be withheld. The reason for this is likely to be where there are safeguarding concerns. Your assessment co-ordinator or lead professional will discuss these with you.

Eligibility for a personal budget

If your child or young person has had an EHC assessment and there is agreement to issue an EHCP, you will have the right to request a personal budget.

You may also request a personal budget through the statutory review of an EHCP. You can also request a personal budget when your child is being transferred from a Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) to an EHCP.

In all cases, the availability of a personal budget is based on the support your child or young person needs to achieve their agreed outcomes and have their identified support needs met.

In some cases an EHCP may not result in your child or young person having a personal budget. In other cases your child or young person may have a personal budget from more than one source (i.e. education, health and social care).

If your child or young person is eligible for specialist short breaks, you will have the choice of a personal budget. This includes a range of options of how best to use the budget.

These options may include:

• Overnight short breaks
• Outreach or support within the family home
• A direct payment
• A mixture of these options

Your assessment coordinator or lead professional will discuss the options with you. Overnight short breaks will not be an option for everyone with a social care personal budget. This is because those with specific behaviour or health needs are prioritised. These are needs which affect their own or their family's sleep.

If your child or young person is eligible for continuing care or continuing healthcare, you have a right to request a personal budget.

In the same way as social care and education personal budgets, you will have a choice over how the personal health budget is managed. This could be by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), by a third party or as a direct payment to yourself.

An eligible young person or their carer can ask their community nurse or the Continuing health care coordinator to provide services with a personal health budget.

Personal budgets will not normally be available for services that a school or college provides from its own budget, as part of their local offer. This means that the scope of a personal budget will differ depending on the school. It may be that a school already has the specialist provision required, so a personal budget would not be available.

For example, the opportunities for a personal budget in a special school will be fewer than in a mainstream school. This may be something parent/carers and young people wish to consider when making their school preference.

This means that any education funding in a personal budget will focus on supporting children and young people with the most complex needs.

The school or college must agree with plans to support a child or young person with a direct payment where it’s used for equipment or a service that will be used or delivered on the school or college premises.

You can have a Personal Travel Budget (PTB) if your child:

• Is of school age
• Attends specialist provision within the City (not Polygon School or pupil referral units)
• Has been assessed as needing specialist transport

If you take a PTB you are opting out of council transport and are responsible for getting your child to/from school.

See our school transport policy for more information.