Direct payments guidance

In some circumstances, the council may ask for all or part of the Direct Payment to be repaid. The decision to seek repayment and the amount of money to be reclaimed is at the discretion of the council. Direct Payments may be reclaimed if:

• The money has been used to purchase a service that was not agreed in the Support Plan.
• A surplus of more than 8 weeks funding has accumulated in the Direct Payment account.
• Termination of the agreement to receive Direct Payments.
• The person receiving the Direct Payment has died.
• The Support Plan has changed substantially resulting in surplus funds.
• Theft, fraud or other offences have occurred.

If you are regularly under spending your Direct Payment, your support plan may be re-assessed and possibly reduced.

If we decide to recover funds from you and you hold a prepaid card, payments will automatically be adjusted. If you manage your own account, the council will write to advise you of the amount you must repay.

We will request repayment within two weeks after writing to you. If you do not repay the amount, we have requested we may reduce your future Direct Payments to recover the funds.