Community based services

Challenges

The challenges we face with the direct payments support service (DPSS) include:

• People are sceptical of having a direct payment service rather than a commissioned service, mostly due to a lack of understanding of what a direct payment means and the support that is available to those that choose to meet their needs via a direct payment
• People are worried about the complexities and responsibilities of being an individual employer
• Difficulties in recruiting a personal assistant (PA):
  • Increased demand for PA services in rural locations
  • Competitive national recruitment market
  • Competitive rates of pay
• Encouraging personal assistants to undertake free training to improve their knowledge and skills to support those that they work for
• Supporting people who begin to struggle to be an individual employer due to conditions such as dementia, which impact their capacity to manage a direct payment, and who have no family or connections to manage their direct payment for them

Supply and demand

There are currently 1350 direct payments individual employers who are supported by the DPSS. These employers employ 2,119 PAs (some on a flexible, casual basis).

There is a high demand for PAs, often in rural localities, requiring multiple visits for complex needs.

The direct payment support service uses a proactive recruitment tool called a PA register through ukcil.com, which enables employers to be matched to appropriate PAs available and looking for work. 2432 PAs have signed up for the PA register since May 2021.

Self-employed personal assistants looking for work are able to advertise their services and availability for free on the Norfolk community directory.

Key data

The 2022-2023 spend and the number of individual people at the year-end that have accessed a direct payment:

Direct payments for older people

• Our spend on direct payment services in 2022-2023: £7.3m
• The number of people with direct payments funded by us in 2022-2023: 443

Direct payments for people with learning disabilities and/or autism

• Our spend on direct payment services in 2022-2023: £6.7m
• The number of people with direct payments funded by us in 2022-2023: 404

Direct payments for people with mental health conditions

• Our spend on direct payment services in 2022-2023: £1m
• The number of people with direct payments funded by us in 2022-2023: 99

Direct payments for people aged 18 and over with physical disabilities

• Our spend on direct payment services in 2022-2023: £7.8m
• The number of people with direct payments funded by us in 2022-2023: 664

Key messages to PAs and individual employers

Our key messages to PAs and individual employers:

• The DPSS has the employment services team as a dedicated team providing end-to-end recruitment and employment support, and the payroll team to provide support when managing the complexities of being an individual employer
• Free training is available to employers for their PAs to support PAs in maximising their skills to strengthen knowledge and increase the skilled workforce across Norfolk
• The DPSS is working collaboratively with adult social services to ensure increased promotion and understanding of appropriate direct payments to ensure needs are met in a person-centred way
• The DPSS is promoting market stimulation and the role of PAs to continue to increase and retain the workforce
• The DPSS continues to investigate and develop new market models to support direct payment users, such as self-employed 'hive working' models and increasing community micro-providers
• We are dedicated to ensuring PA carers are supported and have access to training to improve skills and service, help retain service and improve confidence in direct payments
• PAs supporting direct payments individual employers have the stability of knowing who and where they are working and that their employer is supported in employing them
• The DPSS is constantly evolving to provide a platinum service for those it supports, moving forward in thinking, technology, and customer service

Our ambition

Our ambition for direct payments is:

• For the DPSS to provide a platinum service that direct payments users need and deserve
• Ensuing a person-centred way of delivering a direct payment Service
• Striving to have a passionate, skilled PA workforce supporting Norfolk people to remain independent
• To continue to work to promote and increase the supply of PAs across Norfolk and rural areas to support Norfolk people with care needs to remain in their own homes and be independent

Feedback

What we want people to say:

• "I employ my own PAs who support me to live an independent and meaningful life the way I can control and as I want it to be"
• "I am supported by the DPSS to have the confidence and knowledge to be a good employer to my PAs and know who to turn to for additional support"