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www.gov.uk/apply-direct- (England, Wales, Scotland) www.nidirect.gov.uk/ articles/direct-payments www.gov.uk/access-to- (England, Wales, Scotland) www.nidirect.gov.uk/ articles/access-work- practical-help-work Finding a personal assistant

More info? payments (Northern Ireland) work (Northern Ireland) Your options

If you are looking for someone to help you live independently at home, there are
The money can be used to pay for a wide range of things such as special aids and
equipment to help you in your work, adaptions to equipment, travel to work if
Direct payments are cash payments given to service users instead of services
Since 1 February 2016, the government have been offering personal budgets
Authority or council as needing care and support services. You may use your
for people with on-going awards for travel or support, giving many Access to
you can’t use public transport, or a support worker to help you in the workplace.
three main options that can lead to you having your own personal assistant (PA):
help them in their job. You may qualify for help if you are disabled or have a
The Access to Work scheme is run by the DWP and gives grants to people to
Work users more freedom over how they use the money allocated to them.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, they are a way of receiving support to help
You can only get direct payments if you have been assessed by your Local
personal budget (called an independent budget in Scotland) or personal
direct payments to take on a personal assistant to help and support you.
1. Your local social services department (Local Authority or council) can provide
In England and Scotland, direct payments are one way of receiving your
one of their own staff to act as your personal assistant or may commission
the service from a private provider;
mental health condition or if you are employed or self-employed.
2. You can hire a personal assistant through a home care agency; or
3. You may choose to take on your own personal assistant.
Local social services department
being arranged or provided by the Local Authority.
Your local council may be able to provide one of their own staff to be your
personal assistant and help you with your social and care needs or they may
commission the service from a private provider. If you do this, you will not have
any responsibilities as an employer because the personal assistant will be
employed by your local council or the private provider.
Care agency You may ask a local care agency to find you a suitable personal

assistant.

About the system • • health budget. • you live independently. • • • • If you take on a personal assistant through an agency, the agency
will be the employer and will be responsible for many things
such as deducting tax and National Insurance contributions.
However the rates may vary between agencies and may appear
higher than employing someone directly as the agency will be
responsible for all underlying employment costs such as holiday
pay and sick pay.

Part of UK England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland England, Wales, Scotland A different scheme applies in Northern Ireland. One advantage of using an agency is that they will be able to provide cover if
your personal assistant is off sick or taking a holiday. The disadvantage is you may
be sent different staff rather than building a relationship with just one person.
You should discuss this with any agency you are thinking of using.

administers? Authorities (also known as local council or social services) Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Finding a personal assistant that is right for you is extremely important. If you would
like to use an agency to help you, the Care Quality Commission and the United
Kingdom Home Care Association may be useful to you as they can give you some
information on what to look for when choosing an agency to supply your PA.
Who Local Their websites (below) allow you to search for home care agencies in your local

area and contain inspection reports on individual home care agencies.

Name Direct payments Access to Work Care Quality Commission: www.cqc.org.uk/content/services-your-home

United Kingdom Home Care Association: www.ukhca.co.uk/index.aspx

page 9 Taking on a personal assistant – a basic guide • Finding a personal assistant