Arranging and paying: personal budgets and direct payments

Unless your assessment shows you do not have to pay anything, we will send you bills for the services set out in your care and support plan. These are the services arranged by your social worker and agreed by you. 

Your charges will be worked out from the date your care and support services started. And we will only bill you for the amount your assessment shows you can afford to pay. 

If you cancel your services by choice, you will still be charged for them. This is because the council has already paid for those services to meet your needs. For example, if you are assessed as needing to go to a day centre 3 times a week, but on one day you decide not to go, you will still be charged for 3 day's attendance. Similarly, if you have a home care service but you are out when the carers are due (whether planned or not), or you send carers away, you will still be charged. 

If you were unable to have your services for an unforeseen reason such as being in hospital, you must tell us straightaway and we will adjust your next bill. It is best to tell us as soon as possible if you go into hospital. 

You will always be billed for the level of service set out in your Care and Support Plan up to the amount you are assessed as being able to afford. 

If you decide you are happy that services take less time than originally planned, you must ring Adult Social Care on 0113 222 4401 and ask for your Care and Support Plan to be reviewed. Once your Care and Support Plan is changed, your bills will also change. 

If you decide you no longer need the services arranged for you, you must ring Adult Social Care on 0113 222 4401 to ask for a review. 

You will still be charged for your services until a social worker decides to change or amend your care and support plan.  

You should pay any bill you have received as usual. If a refund is due, it will be applied to your next bill. 

For questions about your bill, you can contact the billing team. 

Your first bill may take some time to arrive because we have to wait for the people who provide your services to tell us exactly how much care you have received. 

Make sure you put the money aside to pay your bills when they arrive. 

After your first bill, you should then get regular bills every four weeks. If your weekly costs are very small, your bills might be more spaced out. 

If you do not pay the bill for your care and support, we will contact you. If you still do not to pay, it may result in legal proceedings against you. 

If it is in your care plan, you can use the money for respite care. 

You should make sure you only use it to pay for the number of days or weeks of respite it says in your care plan. 

You can choose more expensive respite than your plan says, but you will have to pay the extra cost with your own money. 

You might use the money to employ a personal assistant. 

You can advertise for an assistant who is right for you and can do the things you need help with. 

You could ask them to help with:

• getting dressed and washed
• making meals
• taking your medication
• tidying up your home
• helping with work or education
• using transport and getting about
• going out, such as shopping or doing social activities

Get more information and advice from the employing personal assistants toolkit on Skills For Care.  

You can advertise for an assistant through Leeds Centre for Integrated Living.