Personal budgets for children and young people with SEND

What a personal budget is

A personal budget is an amount of funding that can come from education, health and/or social care. Families can spend this funding on services and support, which will be based on the assessed needs of a child or young person.

It is not the total of all the resources available to support a child.

The advantages of having a personal budget

For children and young people who need individualised support, a personal budget can give a family the freedom to plan how support is delivered to meet agreed outcomes.

This gives a more personalised service for disabled children and young people and increases choice, flexibility and control.

How to receive a personal budget

You can receive a personal budget in several ways:

• the amount of money agreed as the personal budget can be held by the local authority/NHS (sometimes called a notional budget) and can be spent for you
• a third party can manage the personal budget for you and spend it on your behalf
• a direct payment can go into a bank account set up solely for this purpose, and you can arrange and buy your own support

You can also choose a combination of the above.

How personal budgets can be spent

Any agreement to provide a personal budget/direct payment will be related to a specific need and outcome to be met in a personal health plan, care plan or EHC Plan. The funds must be spent on that and nothing else.

Typically, funds can be used for:

• short breaks
• a personal assistant to help with care
• a home sitting service
• additional equipment
• additional education staff/service to meet needs and outcomes

If you want to buy a service to go into your child's school, this would require the written consent of the headteacher/principal or person occupying an equivalent position.

Limits on personal budgets

There are limitations on how personal budgets may be used. Check the full Personal Budgets and Direct Payments Policy 2024 to learn what they cannot be used for.

A parent/carer cannot receive a personal budget for every service. If the council provides a service already as part of a block contract (for example, for speech and language therapy), then it will be more cost-effective for that service to provide for that child. A personal budget will not be agreed upon, as this would not be an efficient use of resources.

If providing a personal budget would harm a commissioned service, the local authority can refuse. However, if the particular service required to meet the need is above and beyond what is commissioned due to the particular speciality, then it may be possible.

Refusals

If a service can be provided without the need for a personal budget and this is more cost-effective for the local authority/NHS, then it can be refused. There are also specific circumstances when it can be refused, set out in the Personal Budgets and Direct Payments Policy 2024.

The local authority/NHS will give full reasons for refusing a request, and there is a review/appeal system for each agency that you can follow.

How personal budgets impact benefits

A personal budget is not classed as income and will not affect any benefits that the child or young person is entitled to. There is no link between personal budgets and welfare benefits.