Personal budgets for adults, children and carers
This information applies to England.
In Wales, this is called self-directed support or direct payments.
A personal budget is money from your local authority that helps to fund your care and support. This is also called direct payment funding.
You might be eligible for a personal budget if you:
- are disabled or care for a disabled person and
- have needs that are not met
Money from a personal budget does not count as income and will not affect any benefits. But you might have to pay some money towards your personal budget.
There is no maximum amount of money that you can receive from a personal budget. It’s normally paid monthly.
Types of personal budgets
There are 5 types of personal budgets. They all do the same thing but are for different situations:
- personal budget for disabled adults or children with social care needs
- personal health budget for disabled adults or children with health needs
- carer's personal budget for unpaid carers
- personal wheelchair budget for disabled adults or children
- personal budget for Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP)
You can receive more than 1 type of personal budget at once.
A personal budget or a personal health budget?
If you’re a disabled person, there are 2 types of personal budgets that can support your care needs:
- personal budget
- personal health budget
A personal budget is social care funded support and is for your social care needs. Most people must pay something towards their personal budget.
A personal health budget is NHS funded support and is for your health needs. You do not pay anything towards the cost.
The national framework for NHS continuing healthcare explains the difference between a health need and a social care need. See paragraph 50 to 53.
Integrated personal budget
An integrated budget is when you have more than 1 type of personal budget. For example, a personal budget and a personal health budget at the same time.
Personal budget
If you’re disabled, a personal budget can help fund your care and support.
If you have care needs that relate to an impairment or condition, you might be entitled to social care support. This is practical support to meet your needs.
A personal budget can pay for:
- a personal assistant (PA) to help with everyday care
- equipment not provided by the NHS
- leisure or educational activities and transport costs to meet a social care need
- respite care to spend time away from your carer or do an activity with them
- anything that has been agreed on your care and support plan, and will help you manage your condition
Getting a personal budget
You can ask for a personal budget if you:
- are disabled and have 2 or more unmet outcomes or needs
- have less than £23,250 in savings and other assets
If you have more than £23,250 in savings and other assets, you do not qualify for financial support and need to fund your own care.
Paying for your own care (self-funding) (NHS)
If the personal budget is for a child, it does not look at the savings and assets of their parents.
To get a personal budget, you need to ask your local authority for a needs assessment.
You can ask someone else to apply for you. This could be a friend, family member or healthcare professional.
Getting a social care needs assessment
The assessment will look at:
- your needs
- and if a personal budget could help
You will also decide how you want to manage your personal budget. Then, you might have a financial assessment.
Financial assessment for adults
Most adults will contribute something towards the cost of their personal budget. This is decided with a financial assessment.
Financial assessment for social care
You can prepare for a financial assessment by gathering evidence and looking at your disability-related expenses.
Preparing for a financial assessment
Some benefits and State Pension count as income for a financial assessment.
Income and benefits for a financial assessment
After the financial assessment, you will receive a letter that will tell you how much you will be charged weekly for your care.
If you agree with their decision, you will pay a direct debit every 4 weeks.
Financial assessment for children
If your child needs direct payments, you will manage the budget. You do not have a financial assessment and you do not pay anything towards their care.
If you’re aged 16 or 17 you can:
- manage the direct payments or
- choose to have someone else manage it for you
You will have a financial assessment, it will look at any money you have, but it’s rare you would pay towards your care.
Warning If you live in Wales
The application process is different in Wales. You can apply for self-directed support through social care services. This is similar to a personal budget.
Managing a personal budget
When you have a personal budget, you decide who will manage the money.
Personal budgets and direct payments (NHS)
You can ask your local authority to:
- manage the budget for you
- give the money to another organisation, such as a care agency or charity
- give the money to you (direct payments)
You can manage your personal budget in different ways. This is known as a mixed package.
For example, some money goes to a care agency to pay for your care. The rest is a direct payment. You use the direct payment to pay for a gym class and to buy equipment.
Challenging or complaining
If you do not agree with the outcome of your personal budget, you can challenge the needs assessment. You can:
- ask for a reconsideration
- appeal
- contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
Challenging your social care needs assessment
An advocate or friends and family can help you with the appeal process.
Personal health budget
If you’re a disabled adult or child and have complex health needs, you could be eligible for a personal health budget. This is funding from the NHS.
What is a personal health budget? (NHS)
Like a personal budget, a personal health budget can pay for:
- a personal assistant (PA) to help with everyday care
- equipment not provided by the NHS
- leisure or educational activities and transport costs to meet a medical need
- respite care to spend time away from your carer or do an activity with them
- anything that has been agreed on your care and support plan, and will help you manage your condition
Getting a personal health budget
You need to have NHS continuing healthcare to be eligible for a personal health budget.
You can ask someone else to apply for you. This could be a friend, family member or healthcare professional.
After an initial assessment by a healthcare professional, your NHS local integrated care board (ICB) will do an assessment.
Find your local integrated care board (NHS)
They will look at your health needs and assess them as:
- priority
- severe
- high
- moderate
- low or no needs
If you have at least 1 priority need or 2 severe needs, you could be eligible for continuing healthcare.
Everyone with a continuing healthcare plan should have the option of a personal health budget.
Personal health budgets in NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS)
A personal health budget:
- is not means-tested
- does not have a financial assessment
- does not count as income
- does not affect other benefits or State Pension payments
Warning If you get continuing healthcare and want a personal budget
If you already receive continuing healthcare (CHC), you’re eligible for a personal health budget. Ask your integrated care board (ICB) if you have not been offered this.
You might also be entitled to a personal budget. You can ask social care for a needs assessment.
If you receive a personal health budget and a personal budget at the same time, this will become an integrated personal budget.
Managing a personal health budget
When you have a personal health budget, you decide who will manage the money.
Personal budgets and direct payments (NHS)
You can ask the NHS to:
- manage the budget for you (a notional budget)
- give the money to another organisation, such as a care agency or charity (a third-party budget)
- give the money to you (direct payments)
You can manage your personal health budget in different ways. This is known as a mixed package.
Challenging or complaining
You can ask your local integrated care board (ICB) for an appeal if you:
- did not qualify for continuing healthcare or
- were not offered a personal health budget
Most people will not qualify for continuing healthcare.
If you have needs that relate to an impairment or condition, you might be entitled to social care support. This is practical support to meet your needs. It can include a personal budget.
Apply for a social care needs assessment first. If your needs are medical and you could be eligible for continuing healthcare, the social worker will refer you.
Carer’s personal budget
If you’re a carer, a carer’s personal budget is money to support you in your caring role. You receive the money as a single payment. It can be called a carer’s wellbeing grant.
You can still get a carer’s personal budget if you get Carer’s Allowance. If you are an unpaid carer, you might be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.
A carer’s personal budget is not means-tested. This means they do not look at your savings or assets. You do not pay anything towards your carer’s personal budget.
You can ask for an annual review to receive another payment.
A carer’s personal budget can pay for:
- a holiday to spend time away from the person you care for
- a gym membership
- money towards a bus pass or driving lessons
- a laptop or tablet to access the internet
- counselling
- an educational course to learn a new skill
- anything that has been agreed will help you care for someone
You can have a carer’s personal budget if the disabled person has another type of personal budget.
Getting a carer’s personal budget
To get a carer’s personal budget you need to ask your local authority for a carer’s assessment. Each local authority has different eligibility criteria.
The assessment will look at:
- your needs
- and if a carer’s personal budget could help
Challenging or complaining
If you are unhappy or do not agree with the outcome of your carer’s personal budget, you can challenge the carer’s needs assessment. You can:
- ask for a reconsideration
- appeal
- contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
Challenging your social care needs assessment
An advocate can help you with the appeal process.
Personal wheelchair budget
If you need a wheelchair, you can ask for an NHS wheelchair assessment.
You can ask your assessor about an NHS personal wheelchair budget if:
- you'd prefer a different wheelchair
- you need a wheelchair that the NHS does not provide
Everyone who is eligible for an NHS wheelchair should be able to access this. You may need to ask about this more than once.
Personal wheelchair budgets (NHS)
It is not means-tested. This means the assessment will not look at your savings.
The personal wheelchair budget will be enough money for the wheelchair that the NHS recommends based on your needs. If the wheelchair you want is more expensive, you can add money to the budget.
If the NHS recommends a wheelchair that does not meet your needs, you can challenge the decision of your wheelchair assessment.
For example, the NHS recommends a wheelchair that costs £2,000. This chair meets your needs.
After researching, you find a wheelchair that is £2,500. You’d prefer this chair because it has extra accessories or comes in a colour you like. These differences are not something you medically need.
The personal wheelchair budget would be £2,000. You could pay £500 towards your wheelchair if you want to buy the more expensive chair.
You can also apply for a personal wheelchair budget for your disabled child.
Managing a wheelchair personal budget
When you have a wheelchair personal budget, you decide who will manage the money. If you want a wheelchair that costs more than your wheelchair personal budget, you can add your own money to it. You can ask the NHS to:
- buy the wheelchair for you (notional personal wheelchair budget)
- give you the money to choose a wheelchair (third party personal wheelchair budget)
A charity or organisation can manage your wheelchair personal budget if you have a:
- personal budget
- personal health budget
They will help you buy a wheelchair. This is called a traditional third party personal health budget.
Challenging or complaining
If you are not given a personal wheelchair budget, but are eligible for an NHS wheelchair, ask for a review.
You can do this by:
- using the contact details on your wheelchair assessment letter
- asking your GP for a referral to wheelchair services
If this does not resolve the issue, follow the NHS complaints procedure.
Personal budget for EHCP
A personal budget for Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) is when you help manage your child’s EHCP funding. You can have more control over the things that the EHCP says the child needs.
It is not means-tested. This means it will not look at your savings. You do not pay anything towards a personal budget for EHCP.
A personal budget for EHCP can pay for:
- a personal assistant (PA) to help with everyday care when your child is at home
- equipment not provided by the NHS or not available at school
- leisure or educational activities and transport costs to meet an educational need
- respite care or a day centre for your child
- specialist teaching
- therapies they can access in or outside of school, like hydrotherapy or rebound therapy
- anything that has been agreed will help them
Getting a personal budget for EHCP
You or your child need to have an EHCP to get a personal budget for EHCP.
If you or your child already has an EHCP, ask for a review. When you have an EHCP, you might be eligible for a personal budget for EHCP if the outcomes of the EHCP:
- can be met by funding
- and are not met by an NHS service
Each local authority has different eligibility criteria.
Challenging or complaining
If you or your child do not get an EHCP, you can challenge the decision.
EHCP declined, appeals and SEND tribunal
You can ask for an early annual EHCP review if you or your child:
- has an EHCP
- are eligible for a personal budget for EHCP and
- were not offered a personal budget for EHCP
Last reviewed by Scope on: 27/02/2024
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