04. How much will I have to pay?

When working out how much to charge you, councils should take into account:

• how much the service costs; and
• how much you could reasonably be expected to pay. To work this out, they are allowed to ask you how much income you get and what savings you have.

They should also take into account government guidelines on charging which aim to ensure that councils are reasonably consistent and fair and do not leave people struggling to pay. If you feel you cannot pay, you can ask social services to review a charge. You should do this particularly if you think they haven't taken into account any extra things you have to pay for because of a disability or other problem.

Your services cannot be taken away if you don't pay, but the council can try and get you to pay what you owe.

'Direct payments'

Instead of giving you services, councils can give you direct payments - money to pay for your own care (if you meet certain conditions). If you are a carer, you may also be able to get direct payments.

You can use direct payments to pay for almost any care that you need. For example, if you can't do your shopping alone, you could use a direct payment to help you do it yourself or to pay someone to do it for you. Or you might pay for some care while your carer has a break. You can't use direct payments to pay for permanent places in residential or nursing homes or to buy care from the council.

Direct payments give you more choice about who cares for you and how. But if you use direct payments, it may mean you have to become an employer. This means you will have to sort out contracts, and deduct tax and national insurance. Your council may be able to give you advice and assistance about dealing with these things.

You can decide at any time that you don't want to get direct payments any more, and would rather have services arranged for you.

The council can stop direct payments if it thinks:

• your needs are no longer being met;
• you can't manage your payments; or
• you aren't spending the money properly.

However, they should warn you and give you the chance to discuss the matter before this happens.

What if I am unhappy with an assessment?

You can use your council's complaints system if you are not happy with your assessment. For example, if:

• the council refuses to assess you;
• they leave you waiting a long time to be assessed; or
• you are not happy with how the assessment was done.

You can also complain about the result of your assessment. For example, if:

• you think you are not getting the services you need;
• you think you are being asked to pay too much for the services you use; or
• you have problems with the services themselves.

If a Care Trust did your assessment, you could complain to the Trust in the first place, but the council is ultimately responsible for providing the services. The National Care Standards Commission oversees care services, which from April 2003 includes those provided in your home and carried out by agency staff, so you could also complain to its local office. Similar regulations should be in place in Wales from January 2004  (See 'Further help' for contact details).

For more, see 'What can I do if I have a problem getting the care I need?' ).