Direct Payments

[Penny]

I am still so confused about Direct Payments. We go months without getting a statement so I requested one and I can see that yet again they have taken nearly £1,000 from my daughters account in what they call a Batch Load Reversal.

Why are people allocated a budget, they use some of it and the rest is clawed back. I have queried this before and was told that this goes back into the big pot and is used for other people. So why allocate it in the first place?

Can anybody tell me what else we could use the DP for so she doesn’t keep losing it.

I asked if she could have some of it when she left home and moved into a flat but they said no. We can no longer claim for Supported Activities so what else can we use it for? At the moment the only thing on the Statement is her PAs wages for about 5 hours a week.

[bowlingbun]

If you can bear to read the Care Act Guidance, it specifically says that the LA should not be so controlling as this, it should be used for anything that supports her living alone.
Make a Freedom of Information Act to the LA via their website asking for the rules for making a Batch Load Reversal.
In any case they should be using user friendly terms. I haven't a clue what this means, and I'm sure your daughter hasn't either!

[Melly1]

Penny,

can you not increase her PA hours, either with the same PA or employ others. Just say it's being used to pay her PA. No need to say what she does with the PA ... e.g. day living tasks, goes out and about etc

Melly1

[shirley_19111]

the very same happened to me,they took 500,i fought to keep it,but you cant fight the ss,
so now i use it not only for my daughters pa but i put her gym membership on there and i use it for holidays away.hope this helps on there