Welcome to the Gwent Regional Partnership Teams area for Direct Payments. Work is underway to bring consistency to Direct Payments across the 5 Local Authorities of Gwent. There is a lot of information available across Wales about Direct Payments. However the Gwent Local Authoorities are  standardising information to ensure residents across Gwent have access to the same relevant information on Direct Payments.

The first task is to provide individuals with standard guides on the different aspects and functions of Direct Payments. The guides will provide the basic information on how someone can receive a Direct Payment, how they can be used, what responsibilities people have and general information and contact details to find further information. This area will be updated with new information and content over the coming months and can be downloaded, printed off, read and in some situations watched as and when.

The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 (SSWBA) places a duty on Local Authorities to provide Direct Payments to an individual following an assessment and where there are identified, eligible and agreed needs and outcomes that a Local Authority has a statutory responsibility to support with.

Direct Payments are a way that local authorities can help to meet individual’s eligible support, or a carer’s need for support by providing the equivalent funding and enable people to arrange and direct their own care and support.

An introduction to Direct Payments 

Direct Payments are not a form of income but are paid specifically to purchase services or equipment identified in someone’s care and support plan. This means the payments do not affect benefit entitlement or income tax. Direct Payments are intended to improve choice, control and independence for people. Individuals work with the local authority to decide how their care and support can be met and whether Direct Payments is the service they want to use.

What does Welsh legislation say about Direct Payments?

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 underpins the use of direct payments.

There are four key principles of this Act:

• Voice and control - putting the individual and their needs, at the centre of their care, and giving them a voice in, and control over reaching the outcomes that help them achieve well-being
• Prevention and early intervention – increasing preventative services within the community to minimise the escalation of critical need
• Well-being – supporting people to achieve their own well-being and measuring the success of care and support
• Co-production – encouraging individuals to become more involved in the design and delivery of support plans as well as wider policy or service development.

According to the Code of Practice (Part 4 – Meeting Needs) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, local authorities must consider Direct Payments as an integral part of meeting people’s needs through care and support planning and must not regard them as a separate, secondary consideration.

Direct Payments are suitable for a wide range of people who have been assessed as eligible for social care services, including:

• Adults of any age with an eligible care and support need
• Carers aged 16 or over who need support
• People with parental responsibility for a disabled child.

Please see the first guides availble below.

For further information on Direct Payments please contact your local Social Services Departments or contact the Direct Payments Support Scheme for your area: