Professionals Survey - Direct Payment Support Services Recommissioning

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The County Council is committed to giving customers choice and control; one method of enabling this is through direct payments, where the customer receives a cash allocation to spend in a way which they consider will meet their assessed care needs. Direct payment support services are required to ensure that people can receive the appropriate advice and support to make the best use of their money. They also support the council to ensure that direct payments are used lawfully and effectively.

The current contract for direct payment support services, comes to an end in February 2026. The incumbent provider -Continue reading

The current contract for direct payment support services, comes to an end in February 2026. The incumbent provider - Independent Lives - is continuing to offer services unchanged until the current contract expires in February 2026. Under the current contract the Council pays Independent Lives to offer these free services to support people who receive direct payments:

Information & Advice about Direct Payments, provided by telephone or on their website (opens in new window).
Core Employment Service Independent Lives can help people to find and employ a Personal Assistant (P.A.)
Information and training for social workers, employers and P.A.’s, including training events and newsletters.

During April and May 2024, we spoke to council staff, voluntary and community sector groups, customers and carers, and groups of people with lived experience about current support services and their ideas about what might be needed in future from 2026 onwards. These conversations have informed the content of 3 surveys to test the initial feedback received earlier this year and gather more views.

This is the survey for professionals, including council staff and workers from external partners. There are also 2 separate surveys for customers and carers and the provider market. The customer and carer survey has been direct mailed to those currently in receipt of a direct payment as well as being more widely promoted. Surveys are online only but our library service, Independent Lives, Carers Support West Sussex, the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum and Alzheimer’s Society are offering support to people who will need help to participate in the customer and carer survey online.

What you tell us in our survey will be used to create events in the early autumn so that the voice of customers, carers and others who work with Direct Payments Support is included and used to help put together options for a better service in the future.

We are committed to enabling people to participate in the surveys as part of our engagement activities, if you have any queries please direct them to our team inbox at LLScommissioning@westsussex.gov.uk.

Accessibility and alternate formats

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