Individual service fund (ISF)
You may have been offered a personal budget by us, and are considering setting up an individual service fund (ISF) to manage some or all of your budget. You can choose which aspects of your budget are managed in this way, and also choose which support provider or care agency will be managing it on your behalf. You'll need to agree with that organisation how they will use it in line with your support plan, and ensure that you have the flexibility that you may require to meet your agreed outcomes.
Depending on your circumstances, you might be asked to pay a contribution towards the cost of your support, and if that's the case we'll send you a monthly invoice. We've agreed a set of terms with the care agencies to ensure that the service provided is consistent and of a high standard.
These terms are summarised here:
Statements
When you set up your ISF with your social worker, the care agency will have supplied a clear quotation for your support as outlined in your support plan, inclusive of all costs, including bank holidays and travel. At the end of each month, the care agency will provide you with a monthly statement showing the number of hours of support they've provided, and what they charged per hour for that support.
Choice
Your care agency has agreed to offer you a reasonable choice of staff who visit you, and that they'll try to look after you in a way that best suits your needs. If you're not happy with the way you're being cared for, the care agency will try to find a carer who will suit you better. It’s always good to talk to your care agency if you're not happy, as they'll do their best to try and resolve the situation.
‘Banking’ hours
If for any reason you find you don’t need support on any particular day, for instance if your friends or family are visiting, or perhaps you have a doctor’s appointment, you can ‘bank’ the visit to use on another day. You must give two weeks’ notice to the care agency. If you don’t, you can't claim the time at a later date. So, if you know that you won't be needing a visit on a particular day, it's vital that you tell the agency as soon as you can so that you can ‘bank’ those hours for another occasion. You can only bank a maximum of two weeks’ worth of support at any one time, and you must use your banked hours within your personal budget year. You can't carry over banked hours from one year to the next. If you have built up any banked hours in your account, they'll show on your monthly statement provided by the care agency.