Guide to direct payments for parents and carers

Find out about direct payments for children and young people 0 to 18, who can have them and how they can be used.

What a direct payment cannot be used for

You cannot use a direct payment to pay for:

  • services provided by the local authority, i.e. sessions at the Stephen Wiltshire Centre
  • services or support for children other than the child with a disability named on the direct payment account, for example siblings
  • health services or health therapies such as physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy unless specifically funded through a health or education budget as a direct payment
  • medical equipment such as standing frames or wheelchairs unless specifically named and approved to be funded as a direct payment
  • educational provision such as school trips as part of the curriculum, tuition or home tuition, Montessori or other nurseries unless specifically named and approved to be funded as a direct payment
  • buying services that take place during school hours for school-age children
  • bank fees i.e. if the bank account has fees

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