The Assistant Director – All Age Disability presented the report of The Director of Care and Health.

It was a statutory duty as defined by the Care Act 2014, to offer a person a Direct Payment as a cash alternative to a directly commissioned care and support service where a person has been assessed as having eligible needs. This applies both to carers and people in need of care and support.

The regulations of the Children Act 1989 also placed a duty on Local Authorities to offer a Direct Payment to disabled children.

The review of Direct Payments was presented to the Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee on 29 November 2022 and approval was given to explore how a Personal Assistant (PA) register could best be delivered with the intention of increasing the numbers of people, carers and families choosing to use a Direct Payment. The report set out the options as they related to the Personal Assistant (PA) register as identified by the Direct Payments working group.

The review had been a collaborative exercise and included, as equal partners, officers of the Council, people with lived experience, and representatives from Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) and the Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (WCHCFT).

Members queried the financial targets, and whether the approach of direct payments over commissioned services and were informed that it was a matter of choice and allows for empowerment and choice, especially when moving into further education and employment. It was noted that direct payments had been reviewed by the Committee over a five-year period.

Resolved – that,

1. The proposed service model (Appendix 1) and implementation plan (Appendix 2) be endorsed

2. The Director of Adult Social Care and Health be authorised to progress with implementation of phase 2 of the proposed service model as detailed in Appendix 1 , commence the proposed procurement exercise and award the contract.

3. A further report be brought to a future Committee with proposals for implementation of the remaining phases of the model.