Carers

A carers personal budget is the amount of money paid by Southend-on-Sea City Council Adult Social Care. You can apply for the carer personal budget if:

• You have received a carers assessment from Carers First and
• You are an unpaid carer and care for someone living in Southend and
• You receive a carers assessment, and it is evidenced your needs cannot be met by other means.

The money is provided to help carers pay for things to support them in their role. This enables carers to have a greater control over the support they receive.

If you are eligible for support, you will receive a personal budget. The amount you receive depends on your situation and is paid as a lump sum. The amount will cover a 12-month period after which your situation will be reviewed with you.

When you complete the assessment, your support plan is created which shows how your support will be arranged, and how you spend your personal budget.

Rules on the Carers Personal Budget:

• The carers personal budget is not an entitlement for all carers. It is provided when you have an identified need for support, which cannot be met by other means,
• You can only receive one carers personal budget per year.
• The assessor will need to agree with you on how the budget is proposed to be used and receipts will need to be provided.