Council money you control yourself, to arrange your own care or respite

This is the starting point for everything on this page — you can't get a Direct Payment without one. It's a free conversation with someone from your local council's Adult Social Care team, either by phone or in person, that looks at what help is actually needed day to day.

• Care Needs Assessment — for the person being cared for. Looks at things like washing, dressing, eating, mobility, medication, and safety, and works out which needs meet the council's "eligibility criteria" for support
• Carer's Assessment — for you, the carer, in your own right. Looks at the impact caring has on your own health, work, relationships and wellbeing — separate from, and just as important as, the assessment above

Either assessment is a legal right under the Care Act 2014. You can ask for one yourself — you don't need a doctor or social worker to refer you first — by contacting your local council's Adult Social Care team directly.

Sometimes called a means test. Once needs have been identified through the assessment above, the council works out how much — if anything — the person being cared for should contribute towards the cost of their own care, based on their savings and income.

• It looks only at the finances of the person receiving care, never a carer's own money, savings, or income
• In England for 2026/27: the council contributes in full if capital is below £14,250, contributes something on a sliding scale up to £23,250, and above that the person is expected to pay the full cost themselves ("self-funding")
• Even a self-funder can still ask for a Direct Payment — being assessed as self-funding affects who pays, not whether you're allowed to arrange your own care this way

Crucially, a carer's own Direct Payment — support that benefits the carer directly, such as respite — is never means-tested, regardless of what the financial assessment finds for the person they care for.

• The person being cared for, following a Care Needs Assessment
• A carer themselves, following their own Carer's Assessment — a separate, non-means-tested right
• A parent on behalf of a disabled child, following a child's assessment

• Employing a personal assistant or care worker directly
• Booking respite care — at home, a day centre, or residential
• Equipment or minor home adaptations agreed as part of the care plan
• Activities or support that help you take a break from caring

It can't normally be spent on anything outside the agreed care plan, and councils will ask for records of how the money was used — usually a simple account book or basic receipts, not a full audit.

Once your care and support plan and the Direct Payment amount are agreed, here's what happens in practice:

• Regular payments in advance — most councils pay the agreed amount into your dedicated account on a set schedule, commonly every four weeks, ahead of you needing to spend it, rather than reimbursing you afterwards
• A dedicated bank account — usually a standard current account opened specifically for this money, kept separate from your own finances, so spending stays traceable to the care plan
• A prepaid card, in some areas — a number of councils use a prepaid card system instead of a bank account, which can be simpler and lets the council see spending categories directly, without you having to submit receipts as often
• A "managed" or third-party account, if you'd rather not run it yourself — some support services can hold and manage the money for you while you still direct exactly how it's spent, a middle ground between a full Direct Payment and council-arranged care
• The amount is set to match what the council would otherwise have spent arranging the same support itself — it isn't extra money on top of what you're assessed as needing

Whichever method your council uses, you'll be told which one applies to you when the Direct Payment is agreed — it's worth asking directly if it isn't made clear.