What are direct payments?

• From 1 April 1997, your local authority social work department can offer some people cash instead of arranging community care services (such as home help or the use of day care centres) for them. When an authority gives someone money in this way it is known as a direct payment. Each local authority decides whether to offer people direct payments.

• People who get this money must use it to arrange services for themselves to meet their community care needs. It is not simply extra income to spend as you choose. Direct payments will not be taken into account for the purpose of assessing income for social security benefits, and are not liable to income tax. This is explained further on the Scottish Executive website. 

We have ordered copies of this leaflet for the Nerve Centre so the next time you're passing see if they have arrived yet and you can take a copy with you, or call into the Social Work offices and they should be able to tell you more.

If you are thinking of claiming benefits on account of a neurological condition and are in any doubt as to how to fill in the forms, we recommend you seek advice of the local Citizens Advice Bureau before you proceed.

Free Personal Care for people aged 65 or over

Claiming Disability Living Allowance? Added 27.5.02

There is an excellent site for useful advice on how to claim Disability Living Allowance (DLA) including detailed information to be thought about in your answers to the questions on the forms.  Recommended reading BEFORE you claim. There are guides to claiming DLA which can be downloaded as .pdf files (but they are long, so don't print unless you are prepared to use lots of paper!).

A copy of the guide for claiming DLA on physical grounds is available to consult in the Nerve Centre.

(Note this is NOT an official Government site.)