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Personal Budget Support Plan and Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations

Can a Personal Budget Support Plan meet the requirements for a care plan described in the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations (DCA) and National Minimum Standards (NMS)?

Yes, but there are certain things that you will need to do (see question below).

The DCA regulations and NMS were developed before the widening of self directed support. Some people using a personal budget may choose to use part of their budget to purchase services from a DCA.

As a signatory of the Putting People First concordat we want to support self directed support and have agreed with the Department of Health that a Personal Budget Support Plan (PBSP) can meet the legislative requirements

What additional things will you need to do?

A PBSP will identify all the support needs and arrangements in a person’s life, but not all of them will need to be met by the DCA. In order to comply with the regulations and NMS you will need to do the following:

  • The PBSP must be clear and specific in setting out which parts of the support will be carried out by the DCA.
  • The provider must formally agree in writing to the parts of the PBSP that they will be responsible for and the way in which that support will be carried out , for example, any moving and handling arrangements. The way in which support is to be provided should be made clear and documented at the assessment stage, with both the person using the service and the DCA provider reaching an agreement.

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