Personal budgets for care and support

What is a Personal Budget?

Your personal budget is the sum of money that Newcastle City Council allocates for your care and support. Personal budgets can give you more control over your care and support. As a result of your personal budget, a support plan should be put in place.

Newcastle City Council will cover some or all of the cost of your personal budget, depending on your circumstances. A Financial Assessment is used to find out how much you have to contribute towards your personal buget.

Am I eligible for a Personal Budget?

To find out if you are eligible for a personal budget Community Health & Social Care Direct will carry out assessments, including:

Needs assessment to find out what your care and support needs are
Carers Assessment: if you are a carer, you are entitled to an assessment for support
Financial assessment to find out if you need to make a contribution towards the cost of your care.

You will then be told how much your Personal Budget is and if you need to make a contribution to this budget. You can also choose to add money to your personal budget.

There are different ways of managing your Personal Budget

Direct Payments: you receive the money and arrange your care services yourself
Individual Service Fund: the extra care/assisted living housing provider can manage your budget for you
Newcastle City Council managed budget: the council arranges your care for you using your budget
A combination of the above

How much will my personal budget be?

Your budget is personal to you and will depend on the level of care and support you need and if you can help to pay for some of the support yourself.

Visit newcastle.gov.uk for more information on the cost of care.

What if I’m not eligible for help?

If you don’t qualify for help from Newcastle City Council the information from your assessments will still be useful. Other organisations will be able to take it into account when they discuss your needs with you..

You can arrange your own care and support privately if you prefer. There are a number of organisations who can help you to plan this or offer private care services such as;

Other Useful Information

Paying for Care and Support at home – Age UK’s factsheet
Paying for Long Term Care in England – a factsheet developed by various organisations and charities

Last updated: July 22, 2022