What are personal budgets


Young person, photographyA personal budget is the clear, up-front total amount of funding allocated by a particular service (social care/health/education) to meet the assessed support needs of a particular child. Families can choose to take this funding as a direct payment or ask someone else to manage the money on their child’s behalf, or a combination of the two.

A personal budget is used to purchase the services and support required by a disabled child to meet their specific requirements and to live a more independent life.

Historically, a disabled child has been assessed by the local authority, and from this, an offer has been made as to which service or services the family can access to meet their child’s requirements. This process has not been very transparent, has relied on professionals making decisions for families about which services they think will best meet a child’s requirements and has used a restrictive and sometimes inadequate assessment process.

A personal budget provides a family with a lot more choice and control over the services and support that will meet their child’s individual requirements in the best way. Once a specific support requirement is identified, the family is supported to assess their ‘real wealth’, meaning the resources available to the child and family, such as family support, capacities and resilience, that can help to meet their support requirements. It is acknowledged that although monetary wealth is vitally important, money alone will not develop a support plan for a child.

In control diagram FILEIn control - The Seven Steps of Self-Directed Support