Q: What is a planning amount/individual budget?
A planning amount, also known as an individual budget is a sum of money that has been identified at the support planning stage to meet your agreed outcomes. You can use this money to buy goods, activities or services as long as these things will help – either wholly or in part - meet your agreed outcomes.
Q: What happens if I don’t spend my entire budget?
If you do not need services for a short period, perhaps because of hospitalisation or you need less support because of a change in your needs or you have difficulty in recruiting staff you should contact your practitioner to discuss whether any changes to your support plan and to your individual budget need to be made. Your budget should always have sufficient contingency monies in it just in case you need to spend more money to meet your care needs.
Q: Will I have to pay for services received through self-directed support?
When an adult individual receives a service arranged by the Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership, a financial assessment is completed to determine how much, if anything, they should contribute towards their care provision.
Q: What can I spend my budget on?
You can spend your budget on those goods, activities and services which will meet your assessed needs and fulfil your agreed outcomes. If you are in receipt of a Direct Payment, there are some things however that you cannot spend your allocated monies on; see link below for further details.
Q: What powers does a local authority have to terminate a direct payment?
Direct payments may be discontinued because:
- The supported person would prefer to have an option 2 or 3 arrangement
- The supported person is no longer able to manage their direct payment with the available support
- The local authority is not satisfied that the person’s needs are being met
- The local authority has concerns over misspent funds
Q: What are the Housing Support Tasks linked to Contributing Towards Your Care policy??
HOUSING SUPPORT TASKS
1. General counselling and support including befriending, advising on food preparation, reminding and non-specialist counselling where this does not overlap with similar services provided as personal care or personal support.
2. Assisting with the security of the dwelling required because of the needs of the service user.
3. Assisting with the maintenance of the safety of the dwelling.
4. Advising and supervising service users on the use of domestic equipment and appliances.
5. Assisting with arranging minor repairs to and servicing of a service user's own domestic equipment and appliances.
6. Providing life skills training in maintaining the dwelling and curtilage in appropriate condition.
7. Assisting the service user to engage with individuals, professionals and other bodies with an interest in the welfare of the service user.
8. Arranging adaptations to enable the service user to cope with disability.
9. Advising or assisting the service user with personal budgeting and debt counselling.
10. Advising or assisting the service user in dealing with relationships and disputes with neighbours.
11. Advising or assisting the service user in dealing with benefit claims and other official correspondence relevant to sustaining occupancy of the dwelling.
12. Advising or assisting with resettlement of the service user.
13. Advising or assisting the service user to enable him or her to move on to accommodation where less intense support is required.
14. Assisting with shopping and errands where this does not overlap with similar services provided as personal care or personal support.
15. Providing and maintaining emergency alarm and call systems in accommodation designed or adapted for and occupied by elderly, sick or disabled people.
16. Responding to emergency alarm calls, where such calls relate to any of the housing support services prescribed in other paragraphs of this Schedule, in accommodation designed or adapted for and occupied by elderly, sick or disabled people.
17. Controlling access to individual service users' rooms.
18. Cleaning of service users' own rooms and windows.
19. Providing for the costs of resettlement services.
20. Encouraging social intercourse and welfare checks for residents of accommodation supported by either a resident warden or a non-resident warden with a system for calling that warden where this does not overlap with similar services provided as personal care or personal support.
21. Arranging social events for residents of accommodation supported by either a resident warden or a non-resident warden with a system for calling that warden.
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