From April 2003 every local council must offer people who need help to stay in their own home money instead of arranging services for them. These direct payments will enable you to choose how you organise the help you need in a flexible way.

Direct payments are an important way of ensuring more people can continue to live independently in their own homes. Giving you money instead of services will give you greater control over your life, because you make the decisions about how your care is provided.

We want to see more people using direct payments, particularly older people who, despite being the largest single group of people using community care services, are the least likely to be offered and to get a direct payment.











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