Your direct payment is money that is paid to you, usually into a separate bank account in your name, to pay for your support needs. You manage this money and it must be spent on services that meet your support needs

Your local authority will agree with you how many hours of support and care that you need. The hourly rate is then used to calculate the total amount of your direct payment.

If you don’t want to manage the money for your support and choose instead for East Renfrewshire to manage it, it will be held in something called an individual service fund. You can still decide who provides your support and how it is provided but the Council (or a service provider or third party of your choosing) will manage it on your behalf without you having to handle the money directly.

This is where you choose to arrange some of your services yourself and for East Renfrewshire Council to arrange the others. It’s also known as option 4

‘Outcomes’ means the benefits or positive changes you should experience as a result of your social care and the support provided to you. Your outcomes will reflect what matters most to you and what you want to change.

An outcome-led or outcome-focused support plan is a plan that is agreed between the social worker and yourself, and focuses on the benefits and positive changes your services aims to bring about.

Some organisations provide a payroll service for people who employ personal assistants or carers, including a formal payslip. The cost of this service is often deducted from the person’s direct payment.

A personal assistant is a person employed by you or on your behalf by an agency or service provider, and who helps you to live more independently and do the activities you want to do.

Personalisation is often confused with SDS but is something different entirely. It, too, actively involves service users and carers in shaping and selecting the services they receive but not necessarily using SDS to deliver those services.

As part of your assessment of your support needs, you will be asked to think about what difference you want the support to make. You might answer this by completing a questionnaire or by writing a short summary.

Self-Directed Support means that you choose how the budget for your support needs (or those of someone you care for) is spent some instead of receiving services arranged by your local authority.

With self-directed support, you can choose how much or how little control you want. These choices are known as ‘options’ and you can read about them on this website.

A service provider is an agency, voluntary organisation or local authority that provides or arranges your support services.