Direct Payments Newsletter Winter 2019

Winter Edition 2019

Seasons Greetings to all our readers

Direct Payments Conference Success Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the first ever conference on how Direct Payments are working in Knowsley.

The aim of the event was to raise awareness and work together to make Direct Payments better for everyone.

Jenny Rollinson, Knowsley Council’s Head of Adult Social Care, started the day off by telling us how Direct Payments are important in supporting people to be more independent and how they can help in finding more creative solutions to meet individual’s needs. Jenny also talked about how Direct Payments are supporting small local businesses and community organisations to grow and flourish. We learned more about how the assessment, eligibility and budgetsetting works.

Andy Gilbert described the current picture in Knowsley and talked about what’s working well elsewhere in the country. There are around 800 people using Direct Payments in Knowsley but growth in take up of Direct Payments has slowed down over recent years.

The new Knowsley Adult Social Care Market Position Statement says:

“we will increase the take-up of direct payments so clients can choose the services they want to meet their needs”

Through workshops we explored how the end-to-end process for receiving direct payments could be improved, and how individuals, social workers and families can work better together to develop good support plans. Delegates shared their real-life stories and we heard inspirational examples of how direct payments can make a positive difference in people’s lives – as well as reduce pressure on statutory services. Read more about the conference on page 3...

You can keep up to date with all the latest news and information via our website.Visit us at www.kdc.org.uk.

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KDC Launches brand new support service ‘A Good Life’ is an ambitious new project provided by KDC, in partnership with Knowsley Pensioners Advocacy & Information Service (KPAIS); Sight and Mind; and Tailored Advice Services in the Community (TASC).

Andy Gilbert Service Manager

andy.gilbert@kdc.org.uk

Colette Salt

Direct Payments Officer colette.salt@kdc.org.uk

Simone Stein Customer Finance Officer

simone.stein@kdc.org.uk

Jim McDonald Direct Payments Co-ordinator

jim.mcdonald@kdc.org.uk

The project will provide wrap-around practical support for adults in Knowsley who are disadvantaged for any reason, be it poverty, disability, age or other circumstances, which prevent them from having ‘A Good Life’.

With funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, A Good Life aims to help Knowsley be a place where all people are included, get the support they need, when they need it, and have the knowledge and skills to be self-supportive and resilient, relying less on health and social care services.

A Good Life is launching in January with a go-live date of Monday 3 February. Newly appointed Project Coordinator, Adele Jordan says “I am really excited to be part of this fantastic new initiative for the people of Knowsley and looking forward to getting started, raising awareness and promoting the service right across the borough”. Adele will be leading service delivery, coordinating referrals and organising a small team of experienced project workers employed by the partners.

To find out more about A Good Life, contact Adele on 0151 949 5441 or email her at AGoodLife@kdc.org.uk

Sandra Windsor Payroll Assistant

Terry Roberts Payroll Assistant

Laura Sulce Finance Assistant

Chris Fisher

Finance Assistant

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Direct Payments Support Group The Knowsley Direct Payments Support Group provides a chance for people to get together over a cuppa, chat to other direct payments users, share ideas and off-load your frustrations! Our next next meeting is on Wednesday 12

February at 1.00pm at KDC’s offices in Huyton.

phone 0151 480 8873 to let us know you’re coming.

Knowsley Disability Concern is a registered charity - Number 1103477

Direct Payments Conference Success - Continued from page 1 Fake News

Direct Payments can only be used for services – not true; Direct Payments can be used to pay for lots of things, including one-off items and excursions, as long as it’s not illegal and meets the individual’s care and support needs.

The conference gave us a chance to expose some myths about Direct Payments (see our Fake News) and a number of local providers came along to tell us about their services.

Fake News

If I give up my job to care for someone full-time, I can get paid through Direct Payments – not true; Direct Payments are not an alternative source of income or a benefit and the amount of money provided is based on need.

Fake News

The conference built on last year’s Working Together days and provided an opportunity for people to put questions to lead officers from Knowsley Council’s Adult Social Care.

Once my plan has been signed off I can’t spend my Direct Payments on anything else – not true; you can spend the money flexibility and you do not need permission to do something different to what was agreed – as long as it’s not illegal and meets your needs.

Fake News

You need to have an assessment to get Direct Payments – not true; there is a Care Act Assessment that will determine eligibility for care and support. Direct Payments may then be used to buy the goods or services to meet the needs identified in the assessment.

A number of actions were taken away, including a commitment to ensure that all social workers are fully trained and confident in Direct Payments, and to share guidance on how the Knowsley’s social care charging policy operates in regard to disability-related expenditure. The Council agreed to link with the Knowsley Carers Centre to look at how ‘Trust Circles’ can work for children with disabilities and their families.

Fake News

The service I want costs more so my Direct Payments should be increased - not true; your agreed budget will be sufficient to meet your identified needs, however, if you choose a more expensive respite service for example, you will need to top up the budget and pay the difference.

Direct Payments News and Views - Winter 2019

Paul Davies, Assistant Director of Adult Social Services, closed the day by pledging to address the challenges and make sure that Direct Payments become the default solution for people in Knowsley. He promised support for KDC to host another conference early next year to take the actions forward, which social workers would be encouraged to attend.

Look out for more information towards the end of January when the full report will be published on our website or come along to our next Direct Payments Support Group – see Page 2.

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NEST Pensions and Auto-enrolment

0151 949 5442 yourpayroll@kdc.org.uk

Delivering your pay slips We have been hearing from some PAs who are having difficulty getting their pay slips by email.

Please check your junk mail and let us know if you are still having problems. The good news is that we will be introducing a mobile app in the New Year, which will allow you to download, view and store your pay slips via a portal in the Cloud. Look out for an announcement and instructions soon.

We are asking all our customers to keep to the deadlines for notifying us of changes.

Please make sure you get your changes in on time.

Workplace pension regulations mean that anyone over the age of 22 earning more than £112 per week must be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme. Your Payroll takes care of this on your behalf, establishing a scheme with NEST Pensions for this purpose and bringing on board your PAs who qualify. Your PAs can opt out if they wish but cannot do so until they are first enrolled.

Over the next few weeks we will be running checks to make sure you are complying with your legal duties and you may be asked to sign a Direct Debit form for NEST to collect the contributions from your direct payments bank account.

Do not hesitate to give us a call on 0151 949 5442 if you – or your PAs - have any questions about workplace pensions and auto-enrolment.

Here’s a note of the next few payroll dates: For customers who live in Knowsley

For customers who live in Liverpool

Last date for changes

Payslips out

Wages pay date

Last date for changes

Payslips out

Wages pay date

6 January 3 February 2 March 30 March 27 April 25 May

15 January 12 February 11 March 8 April 6 May 3 June

20 January 17 February 16 March 13 April 11 May 8 June

13 January 10 February 9 March 6 April 4 May 1 June

22 January 19 February 18 March 15 April 13 May 10 June

27 January 24 February 23 March 20 April 18 May 15 June

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all our customers!

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