Council take back budget

Budgets
1

Hello, is it right that the LA can take back the money that hasn’t been used? I had to fight to get the budget for my daughter for a PA and was told i would be given help to find a PA which i never was, the last time i heard from our SW was 6 months ago. I few weeks ago asked if the outstanding monies could be put towards much needed wheelchair but had no reply until today when i was was told the money had been recalled as it hadn’t been used. tia

2

Did you try finding a PA on www.curamcare.com? If your SW approves of self-employed PAs, you can share your care needs with Curam’s vetted PA community and should get applications from PAs directly.
It is an online self managed system, which if that suits you is worth a try.

3

Hi Gillian,

Unfortunately it is possible for Local Authorities to recover unspent funds from SDS budgets. However there should be clear communication with you about this and discussion of your options.

If you haven’t already, I’d recommend speaking to your local Independent Support Organisation who can give you help and advice in dealing with the Local Authority. You can look up their details here: https://www.sdsscotland.org.uk/find-local-information-and-support/
They should show up first in the list when you put in your postcode.

Or if you’re happy to let me know where abouts you live, I can give you the details of someone it would be helpful to speak to?

Thanks,
Kayleigh

1 Like
4

thank you Kayleigh, my local sds returned the budget without contacting me so there is a huge miscommunication here. I have emailed them and social work and have a meeting with a civil rights person in may to discuss it further - it was a fight to get the budget then i was given little support to find a pa to spend it

5

hello, thank you i didn’t know this i will have a look - but i don’t have a budget for a pa now, but will have a look anyway

6

Hi Gillian, I hope you manage to make progress with your meeting. If you are able to get another budget to recruit PAs, as I mentioned there is a likely to be an organisation in your area who can help you with this and place adverts on your behalf.

If you haven’t seen it already you might also find the PA Employer Handbook helpful: https://handbook.scot/the-pa-employer-handbook/

But I understand that you have to have the discussion about your budget first. Please do come back here if you need any more help in future.

Thanks
Kayleigh