CWC23124MW - Direct Payments Pre Market Engagement

Tender description

Direct Payments are payments made to individuals who have been assessed as being eligible for funded care and support in line with the Care Act (2014) eligibility criteria; they are intended to give individuals greater choice in their care as they enable individuals to choose not to receive services purchased by The City of Wolverhampton Council (“The Council”) instead choosing to receive a payment in lieu of these to arrange their own support. The aim of a Direct Payment is to give more flexibility in how services are provided; empowering and giving greater choice and control to individuals to make their own decisions about how their support is delivered. Personalisation, Self-Directed Support, Personal Budgets all describe the means by which individuals can determine how they receive the support they need and have greater control over how they live their lives and purchase their own support rather than use commissioned services. The Care Act (2014) places a duty on all local Authorities to ensure that every adult assessed as being eligible for funded care and support can access a Personal Budget which is sufficient to meet their assessed needs. Direct Payments are the established route by which an individual can receive their allocated budget if they prefer to arrange their own support rather than receive a commissioned service. Direct Payments confer responsibilities on recipients to decide how their eligible needs are met, either by employing people, often known as personal assistants, or by commissioning services for themselves. The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) is to seek input from potential suppliers within the market, to establish the type of solution and functionality that is available for the Direct Payment Provision. The PME will provide an opportunity for the City of Wolverhampton Council (CoWC) to obtain an insight into how potential suppliers might approach the delivery of this service and gain an understanding into the likely level of interest from the market. Keywords: personal budgets, payments, direct payments