SEND Local Offer - Money and Personal Budgets

This section of the SEND Local Offer aims to provide information and guidance on financial matters, including welfare rights and personal budgets. Just click on the drop down sections below to access the information you need.

 

Welfare Benefits

What welfare benefits are available?

For further information on the range of welfare benefits available such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) please visit Nottinghamshire County Council's welfare benefits webpage


Benefits During Transition from Child to Adulthood

Please click here Nottinghamshire County Council Transition Benefits Factsheet or by clicking on the icon below:

benefits during transition from child to adulthood

 

 

 

 

 

  


Disability Living Allowance

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children may help with the extra costs of looking after a child who:

    • is under 16
    • has difficulties walking or needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability

Please click here Nottinghamshire County Council Disability Living Allowance Factsheet or by clicking on the icon below:

Disability Living Allowance factshher

 

 

 

 

 

  

Contact - Advice on Completing the DLA Claim Form

The organisation Contact has information and guidance on completing the DLA claim form. 

The DLA form is long and requires lots of information. So to help, Contact’s benefits expert Derek has recorded three videos taking you through the process. Keep an eye out for more videos soon, or read other tips on completing the DLA form.

Contact’s Frequently Asked Questions tool can help you find answers to some of the most common questions about DLA and other benefits.


Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Please click here Nottinghamshire County Council Personal Independence Payment Factsheet or by clicking on the icon below:

personal independence payment

 

 

 

 

 

  


Universal Credit

Please click here Nottinghamshire County Council Universal Credit Factsheet or by clicking on the icon below:

universal credit

 

 

 

 

 

  


Appealing a Decision

If your benefit claim is turned down or you disagree with a decision about your benefit award, you can ask for that decision to be reviewed. Find out more on Nottinghamshire County Council's website or in the Nottinghamshire County Council Factsheet, which you can also read by clicking on the icon below:

challenging a benefits decision

 

 

 

 

 

  


Further Help and Support

If you are unable to find the answer you need and have a specific benefits question, call the Nottinghamshire County Council Customer Services Team for a referral through to the Benefits Team.

Text relay: If you are Deaf or can’t speak on the phone, contact us using  Relay UK.  Download the Relay UK app or using your existing text phone prefix our dedicated text Relay number with the Relay UK code (18001) 

Contact us using Relay UK: 18001 01623 434 993


Welfare Rights, Benefits and Grant Organisations

The SEND Local Offer website has details of organisations who offer support around welfare rights. Please click here or on the icon below:

Welfare Benefits

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


Contact for families with disabled children

This is an organisation who support families with the best possible guidance and information whatever their child’s disability and this guidance includes benefits and money. 

For more information about benefits go to the Contact website or you can call their helpline

 

 

 

Carers Benefits

Benefits

Please click here Nottinghamshire County Council Carers Allowance Factsheet or by clicking on the icon below:

benefits during transition from child to adulthood

 

 

 

 

 

  


Advice and Support

For further advice and support on your entitlements as a carer you can contact the following organisations:

Carers UK www.carersuk.org

Telephone: 0808 808 7777 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm) or Email:info@carersuk.org

Carers Trust www.carers.org

Tel: 0300 772 9600 or Email: Info@carers.org

Appointeeship and Deputyship

Nottinghamshire County Council will, in exceptional circumstances, manage the finances of people who are unable to do this themselves, and have no one else who is willing or able to do this for them. The Council offers Appointeeship or Deputyship (Court of Protection) for people living in residential care, or in the community.

Please click here Nottinghamshire County Council Appointeeship & Deputyship – Managing money on somebody else’s behalf or by clicking on the icon below:

Nottinghamshire County Council Appointeeship and Deputyship

NHS Help with Health Costs

Although most NHS treatment is free, there are still some costs you might need to pay, for example, to get your prescriptions or to travel to your hospital appointment. Find out more on the NHS website.

Personal Budgets (EHC Plans)

What is a personal budget?

Children and Young People with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan have the right to request a personal budget. Personal Budgets are intended to give young people and/or families greater control over the resources that are available to support them.

What can be included in a personal budget will develop and evolve over time. Parents and/or the young person must always be involved in planning the Personal Budget.

Personal Budgets enable the Council and Health to share decisions about support and provision with children or young people and their families with the belief that if people have more control over the resources available to them they will find the best solutions and support that works best for them.


Who can have a personal budget?

If your child has an EHC plan issued by Nottinghamshire you may request to have a personal budget to meet the outcomes detailed in the plan. Some part of the Personal Budget could be taken as a direct payment to you, or a suitable person on your behalf. A direct payment is the allocation of funding, which is sufficient to meet your assessed needs and can give you much more freedom to arrange the services you want from the companies or carers you prefer.

Sometimes the Local Authority may not agree to a Personal Budget. If that happens, the Local Authority will tell you why.


What can you use a personal budget for?

To pay for resources to help meet the outcomes identified in your EHC plan. This may include services or other items including equipment which are needed to provide support.


How do you get a personal budget?

The Integrated Children's Disability Service (ICDS) Assessment Team and other professionals involved will help by talking to you about the outcomes and the support that your child may need to help them reach their goals as they progress through the EHC plan pathway.

The ICDS Assessment Team, together with you and your child, will write an EHC plan that describes outcomes and goals. The plan will also describe how these can be achieved and the resources that are required to meet the outcomes. The ICDS Assessment Team will advise you on those resources which may be taken as a direct payment.

You can read the Nottinghamshire County Council budget policy or by clicking on the  icon below:

Nottinghamshire County Council Personal Budget Policy

Personal Health Budgets

What is a personal health budget?

A Personal Health Budget is an amount of money that is intended to support a individual's health and well-being needs. These will be identified and agreed between the individual and the relevant NHS Team.   

NHS England is working with partners across education and social care to support more young people with complex health needs to access personal health budgets.

Personal health budgets can improve people’s quality of life and their experience of care, by helping people to have more choices about how their healthcare needs are met.

The ‘right to have’ a personal health budget currently applies both to adults and young adults who are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, and children in receipt of continuing care. 


How could a personal health budget help me? 

A personal health budget allows you to manage your healthcare and support such as treatments, equipment and personal care, in a way that suits you. It works in a similar way to personal budgets, which allow people to manage and pay for their social care needs.

Children and young people with SEND, and those with complex needs, receive a wide range of NHS-funded services. Some are condition-specific and others more generic. These include, for example, wheelchairs, equipment, orthotics, speech and language therapy, hearing services and continence services. 


Who can get it?

The right to have a personal health budget applies to people who are:

  • adults receiving NHS continuing healthcare (NHS-funded long-term health and personal care provided outside hospital)
  • children receiving NHS continuing healthcare
  • wheelchair users who are referred and meet the eligibility criteria of their local wheelchair service, plus people who are already registered with the wheelchair service (these people will be eligible for a personal wheelchair budget when they need a new wheelchair)
  • adults with mental health problems who are receiving after-care as a result of being sectioned under the Mental Health Act

If you are not in a group that has a right to a personal health budget, but you are interested in receiving one, speak to your local Integrated Care Board (ICB). ICBs make the arrangements for personal health budgets and are encouraged to offer them to other patient groups. You can find out more on the Nottingham and Notttinghamshire ICB website


How do I get a personal health budget?

As part of the assessment for eligibility for continuing care packages nursing teams and social care teams should be providing you the information and offering you the opportunity to consider if a Personal Health Budget is something you and your family would like to access.

For further information you can telephone: 0115 88 34720 or email: ncp.childrenscontinuingcareservice@nhs.net  


Further Information

You can find out more information about Personal Health Budgets on the Nottingham and Notttinghamshire ICB website

You can also read a NHS easy read guide on personal health budgets or by clicking on the icon below:

Easy Read with text

Personal Social Care Budgets

Direct Payments

If a child or young person (up to the age of 18) has had an assessment of need by social care they may be entitled to a direct payment to meet their specific needs if the assessment concludes that a social care service is needed.

For further information on direct payments including what they can be used and the advantages you can read the Notts County Council leaflet on Direct Payments or by clicking on the icon below:

Direct Payment booklet social care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Notts County Council Personal Budgets Policy

You can read the Notts County Council personal budgets policy here or by clicking on the icon below: 

Nottinghamshire County Council Personal Budget Policy

Further Education Funding

Depending on your circumstances and the course you are studying you may be eligble for different types of funding.

You may be able to get help with the costs of:

  • your course;
  • day-to-day living costs;
  • childcare.

You can also access free training if you are unemployed and:

You can find out further information on further education funding and what you may be entitled to on the Government Website.


16-19 Bursary Fund

You could get a bursary to help with education-related costs if you’re aged 16 to 19 and:

  • studying at a publicly funded school or college in England - not a university
  • on a training course, including unpaid work experience

A publicly funded school is one that does not charge you for attending it.

You can find out further information on the 16-19 Bursary Fund on the Government Website.


Advanced Learner Loan

If you are aged 19+ and thinking about further education or training you might qualify for an advanced learner loan.

Whether you qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan depends on your:

  • course;
  • college or training provider;
  • age;
  • nationality or residency status;

You can find out further information on the Advanced Learner Loan on the Government Website.

Higher Education Funding

Higher education students living in England, who meet certain criteria, can apply for a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) if they have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.These allowances cover extra disability-related costs or expenses you have while studying which are over and above those provided as reasonable adjustments by the college or university.

You can find out information on the Disabled Students Allowance, including eligibility and how to apply, on the Government Website.

For a detailed breakdown of all financial support at university, read the managing your money at university guide below:  

Managing your money at university

Bank Accounts and Money Skills

Bank accounts

A young person may wish to open a bank account. The following set of films explain what a bank account is and how you can open a bank account and manage your money:

 

 What is a bank account?

 

Making the appointment at the bank

 

Opening a bank account

 

Paying money in to your bank account

 

Taking money out of your bank account

 

Keeping track of your bank account

 

Help to manage your money

Sometimes you may need help to make a decision on how to spend or save your money. These people may be able to help you:

  • Parents or your relations
  • Trusted friends
  • An appointed person. This is a person you trust. You must tell your bank or building society that they can speak to your appointed person about your money
Financial support for home and housing

The Government website GOV.UK has information on the different types of financial support available if you are disabled including housing and council tax benefits.


Disability Rights UK have useful information on benefits that are available to claim. You can also contact them for further advice:

Office Number: 0330 995 0400

Email: enquiries@disabilityrightsuk.org

Page last reviewed: 23/01/2024

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