Direct Payments are another way to get support to meet your personal and social needs. Instead of this support being provided by social services, you are given the money to set up services yourself. This can give you greater control over who will help you and in what way they do it. This may also fit in better with your lifestyle, giving you greater choice and flexibility.

Who can get Direct Payments?

Most people who have been assessed by social services as being eligible for care and support can receive a Direct Payment. We just need to be satisfied that you want and can manage a Direct Payment, with or without support from friends, family or our support service.

How can Direct Payments help me and how can they be used?

Setting up Direct Payments could help you to:

  • recruit your own personal assistant rather than having whoever is sent to you
  • arrange for your care to be delivered at different times to suit what you want to do
  • attend different community based activities using your Direct Payment

If you choose to employ your own staff you can do this either through buying your services from a care agency or by directly employing your carers.

You can have all or part of your assessed needs met using Direct Payments. The payments must be managed safely and responsibly. They must achieve the outcomes set out in your care and support plan which is agreed with your social worker.

Carers can also arrange for the person they look after to stay at home with the support of a Direct Payment, so they can have a break.

What will it cost me?

Your financial circumstances will be assessed to see if you will have to pay towards your care needs. This is the same as for other social care services.

Additional information

Support service

The support service can offer support and advice for as long as you receive a Direct Payment. We (Wrexham Council) currently contract with PeoplePlus to provide a support service for Direct Payments.

You can contact PeoplePlus by emailing ilswrexham@peopleplus.co.uk or by calling 0330 123 2815.
 

Payroll services

You may decide to use some or all of your Direct Payment to employ your own personal assistant or to contract with a care agency of your choice. If you decide to employ staff you will have the responsibility of being an employer.

We want to help make employing your own personal assistant(s) as straight forward as possible, without the added stress of having to calculate wages. Payroll services make it relatively simple for Direct Payments employers to pay wages, expenses & PAYE costs.

Along with Flintshire Council, we have invited specialist Direct Payments payroll providers to join an approved list of payroll providers for both authorities. All of the companies on the list have been assessed against a number of criteria. They have satisfied us of their understanding of Direct Payments and their ability to deliver effective payroll services.

The list is advisory and may help to guide you when choosing a payroll provider. However,  anyone employing staff directly through their Direct Payment is free to choose to use a payroll provider who is not on this list.

Payment policy/operational policy and terms

The North Wales Regional Direct Payment Policy sets out how Welsh Local Authorities discharge their duties to provide Direct Payments to eligible people (this has applied since 6th April 2016).

You can find information about the legal background, and processes involved in Direct Payments, in the Operational Policy and Terms document.

Balance review - online payments

If you have received a balance review letter about a Direct Payment and you need to return money to us, this can be done via the following link. 

Please ensure you make the payment against the section of the page that matches the “Your Ref/Eich Cyf” section on the top right hand side of the letter, for example SDR, SFR, etc. There are eight options available so make sure you choose correctly. However, if you realise that you have made a payment to the wrong section, please contact directpayments@wrexham.gov.uk as a matter of urgency in order for us to resolve this.

Online payments

Contact us about Direct Payments

If you’re interested and already receiving support services you can contact your social worker.

If you don’t receive a service you can contact us to request an assessment of your needs.

If you would simply like to find out more about how Direct Payments could work for you, you can contact us by emailing directpayments@wrexham.gov.uk.