A personal budget is an agreed amount of money that is allocated to you personally by your local council or local authorities (and other funding streams) following an assessment of your care and support needs. This is support that you make a decision and control, in other way we can say, you control the money for your health care and support through Personal Budget.
A Personal budget is the route to achieving independent living based on the social model of disability. It assists disabled people to live an active life and participate in society. It enables you to achieve your outcomes stated in your personalising care and support planning.
We also know that, extending the model of cash instead of care, the Government has introduced individual budgets as a way of making money available for a person’s social care with help in deciding how to use it. By bringing together duty available from different government agencies it becomes possible to include the cost of equipment and adaptations into individual budgets.
For example, you may be entitled to direct payments from social services to cover your health care costs and from the housing department, a disabled facilities grant for adaptations to your home.
If you think that the local authorities or council are charging you too much or your direct payments are inadequate to meet your care needs there is a process through which the council can be challenged. The council authorities should make this important information available to you should you wish to seek a review or make a formal complaint about any aspect of your care assessment.