•Whathelpisavailabletoyou•Howtomakeasupportplan
Your 
guide 
to 
making 
a 
Support 
Plan 


This 
booklet 
explains: 


• 
What 
a 
support 
plan 
is 
• 
Why 
it 
is 
important 
to 
make 
a 
plan 

Contents 


Page No 

WhatisaSupportPlan? 

2 
WhydoIneedtomakeaSupportPlan? 

2 
WhocanhelpmewritemySupportPlan? 3 
WhatdoesmySupportPlanneedtolooklike? 3 
WhatshouldbeinmySupportPlan? 4 
HowdoIgetmySupportPlanagreed? 8 
Helpfultips 8 
WhatdoallthosewordsinBOLDmean? Backcover 


What 
is 
a 
Support 
Plan? 


Making a support plan can help you to If you do not want your Budgetin cash, 
think through the choices you have in your Care Manager can arrange your 
your life. care and support services for you. You will 

still know the value of your Budget, have 
Support plans enable you to say what choice about what services you receive, 
you want your care and support to look and can change your mind and change 

like, and how this will help make things 

better for you (or achieve your goals 
and Outcomes). 

This is particularly important if you are 
taking some or all of your support in the 
form of a DirectPayment(this means 
having your Budgetpaid directly to 
you in cash). 

the way you are supported if you want to. 

Why 
do 
I 
need 
to 
make 
a 
Support 
Plan? 


Once you know your Budgetallocation 
you need to make a plan to say how you 
will spend it, and what your support will 
look like. 

You can decide what you want to 
change and what needs to say the same. 
Planning is a way of making sure that 
people who support you know what you 
want, so they can do a good job. 

Knowsley Council needs to be sure that 
the money for your support is spent in a 
responsible way. We need to see and 
agree your SupportPlanbefore any 
money can be released to you. 



Who 
can 
help 
me 
write 
my 


Support 
Plan? 


You may want to write your SupportPlan 
on your own. 

If you would like some help, you might like 
to involve someone who knows and cares 
about you. This could be your: 

• Family and friends 
• Your care manager 
• A support broker 
• Organisations and people who 
support you 
• People you trust 
What 
does 
my 
Support 
Plan 
need 
to 
look 
like? 


Make your SupportPlanin the way you 
are comfortable with e.g. you may want 
to use pictures, drawings, writing or typing, 
or it could be on tape or a CD. 

Although some people prefer to design 
their own SupportPlan, your Care 
Manager can provide you with a standard 
SupportPlanformat if you would prefer to 
use this. 


What 
should 
be 
in 
my 
Support 
Plan? 


First think about what is important to you. 

Consider the needs you told us about in 
your assessment and what you would like 
to change to make things better for you. 

It is important that the plan is really 
personal to you and is about what you 
want to achieve. 

It should include enough information to 
answer the following seven questions: 

1. Whatisimportanttoyou? 
In this section you may wish to 

consider: 

• Who is important to you either in 
the past or in the present e.g. 
friend’s family, anyone else? 
• How you like to like people to 
communicate with you? 
• What are your hobbies and 
interests? 
• What do you like and dislike? 
• What do you think you are good 
at, what do others say you are 
good at? 
• Any experiences or life events that 
you would like to share? 
• What are your hopes for the future? 
2. Whatdoyouwantto 
changeorachieve? 
Your plan should say what you want to 
change about your life and what 
outcomes you want to achieve. You 
may want to consider what is not 
working well that you can change or 
have less of. As well as what is working 
well and you want to keep or have 
more of. Here are some examples 
for you: 

• Changing where you live 
• Keeping your job 
• Attending further education 
• Keeping fit 
• Going on holiday 
• Changing services you receive 
• Changing how you spend your 
time 
• Meeting new people 

3. Whathelpdoyouneed? 
Your plan should say what support 
you need to achieve your 
Outcomes. It is helpful to write in as 
much detail as possible. This can then 
be shared with people who will 
support you, or used as a job 
description which will help the person 
who supports you do a good job. 

Here are some examples of what you 
may need help with: 

• Personal Care 
• Going to work 
• Shopping 
• Medication 
• Paying bills 
• Dealing with correspondence 
• Swimming 
You may wish to consider what kind of 
person you would like to help you, 
what skills should they have, and 
whether they will need any specific 
training? You may wish to include a 

4. Howwillyoustayhealthy 
andsafe? 
Your plan should also include any risk 
to you or others. Think about how you 
and others will keep safe and well: 

• Are there people you do not feel 
safe around? 
• Are you at risk of falls or accidents? 
• Are you safe at home when 
cooking, bathing or taking 
medication? 
• Are you safe out and about in the 
community? 
• Do you do things that could do 
harm e.g. wander from your 
home, leave the tap or gas on, 
forget to eat or drink? 
• What will happen in an 
emergency? 
We will build lots of safeguards in as 
you go through this process: 
addressing risks with you; only 
agreeing safe support plans; giving 
good advice about safely employing 

timetable of your support. peope and using agencies. 

l


5. Howwillyoustayin 
controlofyourlife? 
Your plan needs to say how you will 
make decisions about your life, 
and what support, if any you need. 
You may wish to consider: 

• Can you make all your decisions 
about your life? 
• Do you need someone to help 
you make some or all of the 
decisions about your life? 
• Do you need somebody to make 
all decisions about your life? 
You may want help from friends, 
relatives, carers, support workers or 
advocates to make some decisions. 
Your plan should say who will help you 
make these decisions and how they 
will involve you and most importantly 
who has the final say. 

Makinganadvancedecision 

An advance decision is a decision 
that you make in advance of losing 
your ability or mental capacity to 
do so. 

An advance decision can be done 
verbally but should really be written 
down as it is a record of your wishes. 
These can include decisions about 
your health, care, welfare, finances, 
and wishes around refusing a 
specific treatment. 

If you are in an `End of Life’ situation 
due to illness you also may wish to 
consider “Priorities for Care” which is a 
special Advance Decision Care Plan 
obtained from your local surgery. 

6. Howwillyoursupportbe 
managed? 
Your plan needs to say who is going 
to manage your support and how 
you are going to arrange payments 
and other practical issues. 

Therearesixdifferentwaysof 
managingyoursupport 

• ADirectPayment 
Knowsley pays the money from 
your personal budget straight into 
your bank account (you need a 
separate account to stop this 
money getting mixed up with any 
other money you have). This 
usually happens in monthly 
instalments. You then purchase 
and manage your support from 
your bank account. 

If you choose to receive your 
budget through a Direct Payment, 
the Direct Payment Team can offer 
you the following support: 

• Home Visits 
• Help to advertise for PA or 
Agency staff 
• Help with interviews/recruitment 
• Assistance in agreeing an 
hourly rate of pay for the PA 
• Contracts for support with 
employees/employer rights and 
obligations 
• Ongoing assistance with 
paperwork 
• Provide information about 
opening a bank account 
• Payroll service -supply pay slips 
and tax returns 
• Ongoing telephone advice 

• Free CRB check service 
• Assistance in managing a 
budget 
• Assistance to arrange 
Employers and Public Liability 
Insurance 
You are not in this alone, there is 
plenty of help from experienced, 
friendly staff if you need it. In Knowsley 
over 500 people are in receipt of 
Direct Payments. 

But you don’t have to manage the 
money yourself. You can arrange for 
someone else to manage it for you: 

• Someoneyoutrust 
e.g. a family member or friend. 
If a family member or friend 
manages the account this is 
called a “third party agreement” 
and works in much the same way 
as a Direct Payment. 
• Acircleofsupportortrustfund 
manages the money for you or an 
agency for example Knowsley 
Disability Concern; this is known as 
a Managed account or “Indirect 
Payment”. This works in much the 
same way as a Direct Payment. 

• Someoneyoupay 
a broker, an independent social 
worker, or an advocate. 

• AServiceProvider 
who manages the budget for you 
and provides support using an 
Individual Service Fund. 

• ACareManagerorSocial 
Worker 
Further more detailed information 
is available about each of these 
options to help you make the best 
decision for you and your 
circumstances. 

7. Howwillyouspendyour 
money(Budget)? 
Your plan must clearly say how you 
intend to spend your Budget. 
You may wish to consider the 
following: 

• What will your support cost week to 
week 
• Volunteer expenses 
• Insurance costs 
• Equipment 
• If you are keeping some of your 
Budgetback state the reason why 
Your plan must be within your Budget 
and show how it keeps you safe and 
well, and that your money is being 
spent legally. 

If you are unhappy with your Budget 
allocation, or your support plan you 
should discuss it with your Care 
Manager. 


How 
do 
I 
get 
my 
Support 
Plan 
agreed? 


Your SupportPlanwill need to be agreed 
by Knowsley Council because we have a 
duty to ensure your SupportPlan: 

• Will meet your Outcomes 
• Will keep you safe 
• Is legal 
All Support Plans must be reviewed at least 
once a year to make sure you still need a 
Budget, and your plan continues to meet 
your needs. 

Helpful 
Tips 


• Go through the plan/guide at your 
own speed. 
• You can work through it in stages, bit 
by bit. 
• Make sure you have plenty of paper. 
• If you are unsure ask someone like 
your care manager or support broker 
who will be able to share an example 
plan with you. 
• Your Budgetwill not be given to you 
until your completed SupportPlanis 
agreed; because of this the Budget 
will not be back dated. 
• It is a very good idea to read all of this 
guide before you start planning. 

What 
do 
all 
those 
words 
in 
BOLD 
mean? 


Support 
plan 


An 
agreement 
with 
you 
about 
how 
your 
budget 
will 
be 
spent 
and 
how 
your 
outcomes 
will 
be 
met. 


Budget 


The 
amount 
of 
money 
allocated 
to 
you 
for 
your 
care 
and 
support. 


Outcomes 


By 
outcomes, 
we 
mean 
the 
things 
that 
are 
important 
for 
you 
to 
achieve. 
These 
might 
be 
big 
changes 
such 
as 
moving 
house, 
or 
smaller 
but 
important 
things 
such 
as 
making 
sure 
that 
you 
get 
up 
in 
the 
morning 
at 
the 
time 
that 
suits 
you. 
An 
outcome 
might 
also 
be 
to 
keeping 
something 
the 
same 
such 
as 
being 
able 
to 
keep 
you 
house 
and 
garden 
well 
maintained. 


Care 
Manager 


This 
is 
another 
name 
for 
a 
social 
worker. 


Direct 
Payment 


This 
means 
having 
your 
Budget 
paid 
directly 
into 
your 
bank 
account. 


A 
free 
interpreting 
service 
is 
available 
if 
you 
need 
help 
with 
this 
information. 


Contact 
Knowsley 
Access 
Team 
on 
0151 
443 
2600, 
fax 
0151 
443 
4782 
or 
email 
knowsleyaccesssteam@knowsley.gov.uk