Personal Budgets

If a child or young person has an EHCP, the local authority (LA) are responsible for ensuring the support set out in the plan is made for the child or young person.

The LA will normally provide the funding to the school or college the child or young person attends, so they can deliver the educational support needed. However, the LA can consider making a payment to the parent, the young person or another nominated person, to allow them to organise the provision themselves.

What is a personal budget?

The personal budget is a notional amount of money that would be needed to cover the cost of making the special educational provision specified in the EHCP.

You can ask that the local authority consider identifying a personal budget when you are issued a draft EHCP following the EHC needs assessment or when they are reviewing an EHCP.

Information on personal budgets can be found on the Greenwich Local Offer.

How can I get a direct payment?

When you request a personal budget, you can ask the LA to identify which elements of the personal budget you could receive as a direct payment. This is an actual amount of money that you could use to commission the provision in the EHC plan yourself.

The LA can refuse to make a direct payment if they don’t believe the person receiving the payments would be capable of managing the money, or if they do not believe it would be used in an appropriate way. They can also refuse where it would negatively impact other services provided by the LA, or if it would not be an efficient use of resources.

Where the provision proposed to be replaced by a direct payment takes place in a school or college setting, the consent of the head teacher or principal of the named school or other institution is required. If they do not consent then the LA will be unable to make a direct payment.

If the LA refuse to identify a personal budget or make a direct payment, you cannot appeal against that decision but you can ask them to review it.

Useful Links

The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)