Assessing needs and paying for care

What is a Personal Budget?

When we have agreed with you on the best ways to help you, we will work out how much this will cost as soon as possible. We will then agree with you the amount the Council will contribute to your care and support. This is called a ‘Personal Budget’.

Your care and support plan will also include all advice, information, signposting, money and services that the Council will be providing to you.

Coventry City Council has an obligation to use public funds wisely and effectively to ensure that we can provide good quality services and meet our legal obligations.

Will this information be written down?

All of this information will be written down in your Care and Support Plan and you will have a copy of this.

This information may need to be shared with people or agencies involved in your support with your permission but we will talk to you about this at the time.

How will my support be arranged?

We will ask you if you would like our help to arrange your support or if you would like to do this yourself. There are a number of choices:

1. You could have the ‘Personal Budget’ paid to you so that you can arrange your own support. This means you can choose who helps you at the times you prefer and in a way that suits you. When your ‘Personal Budget’ is paid to you this is called a ‘Direct Payment’.
   If you need support to manage a Direct Payment you can have someone to do this for you or with you. This is explained more in the next section.
   We can still provide you with information about care agencies or organisations or people that might be able to help you if you needed us to.
2. We could arrange your support for you. Even when the Council sets up and pays your support for you using your ‘Personal Budget’, you will still be given choice about the best ways to support you with your needs.
3. You could have the ‘Personal Budget’ paid to a third party so that they can arrange your support on your behalf. This means you can choose who helps you at the times you prefer and in a way that suits you.  When your ‘Personal Budget’ is paid to a third party, this is called an ‘Individual Service’.
4. You can have some of the money paid to you as a Direct Payment for you to organise some of your support and ask the Council to set up the rest of your support.

You will also be told if you will have to pay towards your support and how much that will be.

You could also decide to pay an additional payment or a ‘top up’ towards your care and support of your choice.

Your Care and Support Plan will include details about what support you will get, who it will come from, when it will happen and how much it costs.

Download our printable guide about Personal Budgets