Can I Use Direct Payments to Hire a Private Carer?

The short answer

Yes, the law allows itThe Care Act 2014 says a direct payment must be used to pay for arrangements that meet the needs in the care and support plan. It does not limit those arrangements to agencies or to people you employ.
Not a partner or close relative in the same houseThe regulations stop a direct payment paying a spouse, partner or close relative who lives in the same household, unless the council decides it is necessary. A relative living elsewhere can be paid.
Self-employed has to be trueIf the carer is an employee in practice, your relative is an employer, with payroll, a pension duty and insurance to arrange. That is why councils ask for evidence of the carer's status.
Your council sets conditions and asks for recordsA council can attach conditions and require information, within limits set by the regulations. Most councils publish a policy on self-employed carers, so read yours before a carer starts.

The law described is England: the Care Act 2014, the Care and Support (Direct Payments) Regulations 2014 and the statutory guidance, all read on 11 November 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice about your relative's case. PrimeCarers is an introductory platform for self-employed carers. It is not a care agency and is not registered with the Care Quality Commission.

What the law says

The rules in England, and where each one is written

A direct payment is the council's share of a personal budget, paid to the person or to somebody acting for them so that they buy the care themselves. Four rules decide whether it can pay a private carer. Each is given with its source so you can quote it in a letter.

The money must meet the needs in the plan

A direct payment is made on condition that it is used only to pay for arrangements that meet the needs written into the care and support plan. The Act does not say those arrangements must be with an agency, a registered provider or an employee.

Care Act 2014, section 33(3)

It cannot normally pay a partner or a close relative in the same house

The payment must not be used to pay a spouse, civil partner or partner, or a listed close relative who lives in the same household, to meet the needs. The council can allow it where it considers that necessary.

Direct Payments Regulations 2014, regulation 3

The council may add conditions, within limits

A council may say that a particular person must not provide the care, and may require information from you. It may not require the care to come from any particular person, or ask for information more often or in more detail than it reasonably needs.

Regulation 4

It is reviewed, and can be stopped or reclaimed

The council must review the payment within the first 6 months and then at least every 12 months. If a condition is breached, it may end the payment and may require some or all of it to be repaid.

Regulation 7 and section 33(5)

The first rule is in section 33 of the Care Act 2014. The other three are in the Care and Support (Direct Payments) Regulations 2014, together with section 33(5) of the Act. Chapter 12 of the Care and support statutory guidance, which councils must act under, adds that a direct payment "is designed to be used flexibly and innovatively and there should be no unreasonable restriction placed on the use of the payment, as long as it is being used to meet eligible care and support needs" (paragraph 12.35).

Nothing in the Act, the regulations or chapter 12 of the guidance mentions self-employed carers or introductory platforms by name. They are neither banned nor guaranteed. What the law gives you is a payment that must meet the needs in the plan, a council that may add reasonable conditions, and a council that may not tell you which person has to provide the care.

The council has to make a direct payment when it is asked for one and four conditions in section 31 are met: the person has the capacity to ask, the regulations do not prohibit it, the council is satisfied the person or their nominee can manage the money with whatever help is available, and the council is satisfied a direct payment is an appropriate way to meet the needs. GOV.UK's Apply for direct payments page puts the purpose in one line: direct payments "let you choose and buy the services you need yourself, instead of getting them from your council". It also warns that "you may become an employer if you pay someone to care for you", which is the subject of the next section.

Self-employed or employee

Why the council asks for proof that the carer is self-employed

Paying a self-employed carer and employing a personal assistant look alike from the kitchen table: the same person comes, and the same money pays them. In law they are different, and the difference decides who owes what to HMRC.

GOV.UK's guide to employing someone to work in your home says you are usually the employer of anyone who works in your home if you hire them and they are not self-employed or paid through an agency. It adds that you are classed as an employer if you pay a carer or personal assistant directly, even if the money comes from a council direct payment or from the NHS, and that you cannot ask your employee to become self-employed.

An employer has to give an employment contract and payslips, pay at least the National Minimum Wage, check the person can work in the UK, register with HMRC, run payroll and deduct tax and National Insurance. Employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million is required from the day you become an employer, with a fine of £2,500 for every day without it, unless you employ only a close family member. A worker aged 22 to State Pension age who earns at least £10,000 a year must be enrolled in a workplace pension.

None of that applies when the carer is self-employed. GOV.UK describes a self-employed person as somebody who runs their business for themselves, is not paid through PAYE, submits invoices for the work they have done and is responsible for their own tax and National Insurance. Status follows the facts of the arrangement. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool asks who decides what work is done and when, where and how it is done. It is anonymous, HMRC says it will stand by the result if the answers are accurate, and the result can be saved.

A council that pays out public money does not want to find later that your relative was an employer all along, with unpaid tax behind them. That is the reason for the evidence in the table.

What the council usually needs from a self-employed carer

	Why it is asked for	Who provides it
Registered with HMRC as self-employed	So the council can see the carer deals with their own tax and National Insurance, and your relative is not an employer who should be running PAYE	The carer. HMRC issues a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) when somebody registers for Self Assessment. PrimeCarers does not hold or supply it
An employment status check	Calling somebody self-employed does not make them so. HMRC looks at who decides what work is done, and when, where and how	You or the carer, using HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool on gov.uk. It is anonymous, and the result can be saved and shown to the council
Insurance	A self-employed carer is not covered by any employer's liability policy of yours, because you are not their employer	The carer. Visits booked through PrimeCarers are covered by the carer insurance policy we arrange, within its terms. Ask the council what cover it wants to see
A criminal record check	Many council policies ask for an enhanced DBS check. Where an authorised person holds the payment for somebody who lacks capacity, the regulations can require one (regulation 3(4))	The carer holds the certificate. PrimeCarers confirms an accepted check before a profile appears: an Enhanced DBS issued within the last 2 years, the DBS Update Service, Scottish PVG or Access NI
A written agreement for the care	It shows a contract for services between your relative and the carer, not a contract of employment	You and the carer. Care booked through PrimeCarers runs on our standard carer and client contract, which states that the carer is self-employed and responsible for their own tax and National Insurance
Invoices for the care given	The invoice, matched to the bank statement or prepaid card record, is how the council sees that the money met the needs in the plan	The carer. On PrimeCarers, invoices are compiled automatically from the visits booked on the platform, so check the bookings are right
A plan for cover	The council keeps its duty to see that needs are met if the carer is ill or away, so it will ask what happens then	You. A second carer who already knows your relative is the usual answer

Registered with HMRC as self-employed

Why it is asked for: So the council can see the carer deals with their own tax and National Insurance, and your relative is not an employer who should be running PAYE
Who provides it: The carer. HMRC issues a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) when somebody registers for Self Assessment. PrimeCarers does not hold or supply it

An employment status check

Why it is asked for: Calling somebody self-employed does not make them so. HMRC looks at who decides what work is done, and when, where and how
Who provides it: You or the carer, using HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool on gov.uk. It is anonymous, and the result can be saved and shown to the council

Insurance

Why it is asked for: A self-employed carer is not covered by any employer's liability policy of yours, because you are not their employer
Who provides it: The carer. Visits booked through PrimeCarers are covered by the carer insurance policy we arrange, within its terms. Ask the council what cover it wants to see

A criminal record check

Why it is asked for: Many council policies ask for an enhanced DBS check. Where an authorised person holds the payment for somebody who lacks capacity, the regulations can require one (regulation 3(4))
Who provides it: The carer holds the certificate. PrimeCarers confirms an accepted check before a profile appears: an Enhanced DBS issued within the last 2 years, the DBS Update Service, Scottish PVG or Access NI

A written agreement for the care

Why it is asked for: It shows a contract for services between your relative and the carer, not a contract of employment
Who provides it: You and the carer. Care booked through PrimeCarers runs on our standard carer and client contract, which states that the carer is self-employed and responsible for their own tax and National Insurance

Invoices for the care given

Why it is asked for: The invoice, matched to the bank statement or prepaid card record, is how the council sees that the money met the needs in the plan
Who provides it: The carer. On PrimeCarers, invoices are compiled automatically from the visits booked on the platform, so check the bookings are right

A plan for cover

Why it is asked for: The council keeps its duty to see that needs are met if the carer is ill or away, so it will ask what happens then
Who provides it: You. A second carer who already knows your relative is the usual answer

Councils differ, and this is not a statutory list. It is drawn from the published council policies on our council pages, where HMRC registration, insurance and an employment status check are named most often. Your own council's direct payment agreement is the list that counts. Read on 11 November 2026.

A UTR is the 10-digit reference HMRC issues when somebody registers for Self Assessment; GOV.UK explains where a carer can find theirs. Self-employed carer or employee? goes through the status tests in more detail, and direct payments by council shows what each council's policy says about self-employed carers and the evidence it names.

What PrimeCarers provides for this, and what it does not

PrimeCarers is an introductory platform. The carers are self-employed, set their own rates, and contract directly with your relative. Before a profile appears we check identity and right to work, confirm an accepted criminal record check (an Enhanced DBS issued within the last 2 years, the DBS Update Service, Scottish PVG or Access NI), and interview the carer online. Care booked on the platform runs on our standard carer and client contract, which states that the carer is self-employed and responsible for their own tax and National Insurance. Invoices are compiled automatically from the visits booked, payment is made through the platform, usually by card or Direct Debit, and visits booked through PrimeCarers are covered by the carer insurance policy we arrange, within its terms (no clinical procedures).

We do not supply a carer's UTR, complete a CEST check, decide anyone's employment status or run payroll, and we do not check qualifications, training or references. We are not a care agency and are not registered with the Care Quality Commission, and we cannot tell you what your council will accept. Ask the carer for their own tax evidence, and ask the council whether its direct payment account or prepaid card can pay through a platform. Our pricing page sets out what we charge, which is taken from the rate the carer sets and is not added on top.

Can the council say no

Whether a council can refuse a self-employed carer or an introductory platform

The national rules do not answer this with a yes or a no. They give councils a power to attach conditions and put limits on that power. Inside those limits, each council writes its own direct payment policy, and those policies differ.

What a council may do

Attach conditions to a direct payment (regulation 4(1))
Say that a particular, named person must not provide the care (regulation 4(2)(a))
Require information from you, to check the payment is still appropriate and its conditions are kept (regulation 4(2)(b))
Decline to raise the budget for a dearer carer where it could achieve the same outcomes for less (guidance 11.26)
End the payment, or require repayment, where a condition is breached (section 33(5))

What the rules stop it doing

Require the care to be provided by any particular person (regulation 4(3)(a))
Ask for information more often or in more detail than it reasonably needs, or in a format you cannot reasonably provide (regulation 4(3)(b))
Place unreasonable restrictions on how the payment is used, so long as it meets eligible needs (guidance 12.35, a "should")
Offer a prepaid card as the only option, or tie the card solely to an online marketplace of selected providers (guidance 12.58 and 12.59)
Decline a request without giving reasons that say which conditions in the Act are not met (guidance 12.22, a "should")

The items marked regulation or section are law. The items from the guidance are things it says councils should or should not do, and section 78 of the Care Act 2014 says a council must act under that guidance.

In practice most councils accept a self-employed carer and ask for checks. Of the 81 council policies on our council pages that state a position, 67 allow a direct payment to pay a self-employed carer with checks, 12 allow it without naming checks, and 2, both in Scotland, do not (our reading of each council's published policy, 11 November 2026). Find your council there before you agree anything with a carer, because its page quotes the policy and links to it.

If your council says no, ask in writing which condition in the Act or which regulation it relies on. Where a request for a direct payment itself is declined, the guidance says the council should give reasons that set out which conditions are not met and what would change the decision, and must make interim arrangements to meet the needs meanwhile (paragraph 12.22). After that, use the council's adult social care complaints procedure. If that does not settle it, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at complaints free of charge, normally only if you go to it within 12 months of first knowing about the problem.

The guidance also says a direct payment should be ended only as a last resort, and that if a council does end one it must make sure there is no gap in the care (paragraphs 12.67 and 12.68).

Three ways to use it

A self-employed carer, an employed personal assistant, or a regulated agency

A direct payment can be used in three ways, and they meet the same needs. They differ in who carries the employer's duties, who is regulated, who chooses the person at the door, and how much paperwork comes back to your family.

Using a direct payment three ways

	A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform	A personal assistant you employ	A regulated care agency
Who is the employer	Nobody, provided the carer is self-employed in fact. The contract for the care is between your relative and the carer	Your relative, or whoever holds the payment. gov.uk says you are classed as an employer if you pay a carer or personal assistant directly, even with direct payment money	The agency employs the care workers
Tax, National Insurance and pension	The carer deals with their own through Self Assessment	You register as an employer, run payroll, deduct tax and National Insurance, and enrol a worker aged 22 to State Pension age who earns at least £10,000 a year in a workplace pension	The agency deals with all of it
Insurance	The carer's own cover. Visits booked through PrimeCarers are covered by the carer insurance policy we arrange, within its terms	Employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million from the day you become an employer, unless you employ only a close family member	The agency's own insurance
Is it regulated by the Care Quality Commission	No. Introducing carers to a person, with no ongoing role in directing or controlling the care, is outside the regulated activity of personal care. PrimeCarers is not registered with the CQC	No. A carer employed by the person and working wholly under their direction is also outside it	Yes. Personal care provided by an agency is a regulated activity in England, so the agency has to be registered with the CQC
Who chooses the carer	Your family, from profiles showing each carer's rate, experience and reviews	Your family, through an advert and interviews you run yourselves	The agency, from the staff it has available
Checks before they start	On PrimeCarers: identity, right to work, an accepted criminal record check and an online interview. Qualifications, training and references are for your family to check with the carer	You arrange them. You must check the person can work in the UK	The agency runs its own
What an hour costs	£18 to £25 on PrimeCarers, typically about £19.47. The carer sets the rate, and our fee is included in it	The wage you agree, plus employer National Insurance, holiday pay, pension and insurance. The guidance says those costs must be in the budget where employing is the appropriate way to meet the needs	£28 to £35 is the usual range for home care visits
Cover when the carer is away	You arrange a second carer	You arrange and pay for cover, and owe statutory sick pay and paid holiday where the employee qualifies	The agency sends somebody else
Records the council will ask for	Invoices, the account or card statements, and usually evidence that the carer is self-employed	Payslips, payroll records, the employment contract and the insurance certificate	The agency's invoices and the statements

Who is the employer

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: Nobody, provided the carer is self-employed in fact. The contract for the care is between your relative and the carer
A personal assistant you employ: Your relative, or whoever holds the payment. gov.uk says you are classed as an employer if you pay a carer or personal assistant directly, even with direct payment money
A regulated care agency: The agency employs the care workers

Tax, National Insurance and pension

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: The carer deals with their own through Self Assessment
A personal assistant you employ: You register as an employer, run payroll, deduct tax and National Insurance, and enrol a worker aged 22 to State Pension age who earns at least £10,000 a year in a workplace pension
A regulated care agency: The agency deals with all of it

Insurance

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: The carer's own cover. Visits booked through PrimeCarers are covered by the carer insurance policy we arrange, within its terms
A personal assistant you employ: Employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million from the day you become an employer, unless you employ only a close family member
A regulated care agency: The agency's own insurance

Is it regulated by the Care Quality Commission

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: No. Introducing carers to a person, with no ongoing role in directing or controlling the care, is outside the regulated activity of personal care. PrimeCarers is not registered with the CQC
A personal assistant you employ: No. A carer employed by the person and working wholly under their direction is also outside it
A regulated care agency: Yes. Personal care provided by an agency is a regulated activity in England, so the agency has to be registered with the CQC

Who chooses the carer

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: Your family, from profiles showing each carer's rate, experience and reviews
A personal assistant you employ: Your family, through an advert and interviews you run yourselves
A regulated care agency: The agency, from the staff it has available

Checks before they start

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: On PrimeCarers: identity, right to work, an accepted criminal record check and an online interview. Qualifications, training and references are for your family to check with the carer
A personal assistant you employ: You arrange them. You must check the person can work in the UK
A regulated care agency: The agency runs its own

What an hour costs

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: £18 to £25 on PrimeCarers, typically about £19.47. The carer sets the rate, and our fee is included in it
A personal assistant you employ: The wage you agree, plus employer National Insurance, holiday pay, pension and insurance. The guidance says those costs must be in the budget where employing is the appropriate way to meet the needs
A regulated care agency: £28 to £35 is the usual range for home care visits

Cover when the carer is away

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: You arrange a second carer
A personal assistant you employ: You arrange and pay for cover, and owe statutory sick pay and paid holiday where the employee qualifies
A regulated care agency: The agency sends somebody else

Records the council will ask for

A self-employed carer found through an introductory platform: Invoices, the account or card statements, and usually evidence that the carer is self-employed
A personal assistant you employ: Payslips, payroll records, the employment contract and the insurance certificate
A regulated care agency: The agency's invoices and the statements

Employer duties are from GOV.UK. The regulation row is from Schedule 1 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. PrimeCarers rates are what families pay with our fee included; agency rates are the usual range for home care visits. Read on 11 November 2026.

The row on regulation comes from Schedule 1 to the Regulated Activities Regulations 2014. Personal care is a regulated activity, but the Schedule leaves out the introduction of carers to an individual by a person "having no ongoing role in the direction or control of the service provided", and the services of a carer employed by an individual and working wholly under their direction. The statutory guidance says councils should explain the difference between a regulated and an unregulated provider to anyone thinking of using a direct payment this way, so that the choice is an informed one (paragraph 12.50).

An unregulated arrangement puts more of the judgement on your family. Nobody inspects it, so the checks you make, the care plan you agree and the cover you line up matter more. Background checks for private carers explains what each check does and does not tell you, and what a personal assistant does, and what employing one commits a household to covers the employed route in full.

How to do it

From the assessment to the first invoice, step by step

A direct payment is not a separate application or a separate pot of money. It is a choice about how an agreed personal budget is paid, so the steps start with the assessment and end with the records.

1
Ask for a care needs assessment
The starting point
GOV.UK says you can only get direct payments if social services have assessed you as needing care and support. Ask the council's adult social care team for an assessment of your relative, and say at the start that the family is interested in a direct payment.
2
Get the personal budget in writing
After the financial assessment
The council works out what your relative can pay and what it will pay. In 2026 to 2027 the capital limits in England are £14,250 and £23,250. The guidance says the budget must be enough to meet the needs, should reflect local costs, and that the cost assumptions should be shared with you (paragraphs 11.25 and 12.25). Ask for the hourly rate it assumes.
3
Ask for the budget as a direct payment
In writing
Say your relative would like the personal budget paid as a direct payment and why. If the four conditions in section 31 are met the council must agree. It will send a direct payment agreement: read the conditions, the records it wants and how often.
4
Tell the council you plan to use a self-employed carer
Before anyone starts
Ask what evidence it needs and whether it has a form for it. Ask too how it wants payments made, because some councils use a separate bank account and others a prepaid card. The guidance says a prepaid card should not be the only option offered.
5
Choose the carer and settle their status
Your family's choice
Meet more than one carer. Ask the carer you choose for their HMRC evidence and insurance, run the CEST tool together if the council asks for it, and agree in writing the hours, the rate, notice and what happens when they are away.
6
Pay from the direct payment and keep every invoice
From the first visit
Keep the direct payment apart from your relative's own money. File each invoice with the statement that shows it being paid. If your relative has to pay a contribution, the council will say whether it goes into the same account.
7
If the carer charges more than the payment covers
Ask before you pay extra
Ask the council to review the budget first, with dated evidence of what carers nearby charge. The guidance recognises that a person may pay a top-up for care that costs more than the council would pay, and says that extra is not part of the personal budget (paragraph 11.14). How a top-up works alongside a direct payment is for your council.

How to get local authority funding for care at home covers the assessment and the means test in detail, and personal budgets and personal health budgets explains how the budget itself is set. If the money does not stretch to the carer you want, when a carer costs more than your direct payment sets out how to ask for a review and when paying the difference yourself may be allowed.

Paying a relative

When a direct payment can pay somebody in the family

The answer turns on where the relative lives. Regulation 3 of the Direct Payments Regulations 2014 names the people who cannot normally be paid, and gives the council the power to make an exception.

A relative who lives somewhere else

A son, daughter, sister or friend living at their own address can be paid from a direct payment as a personal assistant, with the hours and the rate written into the plan. Everything about tax, employment status and Carer's Allowance then applies to them.

Allowed

A partner, or a relative in the same house

The regulations name spouses, partners and close relatives living in the same household, and say a direct payment is not to pay them for care. The council can decide otherwise where it considers that necessary to meet the needs.

Not unless the council agrees

The case councils do agree to

The exception is for cases where nobody else could sensibly do the job: a language nobody else in the area speaks, a condition where a stranger causes real distress, or needs so particular that only somebody who already knows the person can meet them. Make the case in writing with the social worker.

Put it in writing

Being paid to run the payment itself

The same regulations let a relative in the same household be paid for the administration behind a direct payment, the payroll and the arranging, where the council agrees it is necessary. That is not payment for care, and the amount and the tasks go in the care plan.

A separate permission

The people named in regulation 3 are the person's spouse or civil partner, somebody living with them as a partner, and these relatives if they live in the same household: a parent or parent-in-law, son or daughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, stepson or stepdaughter, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, or grandparent, and the partners of those relatives. The council can allow one of them to be paid for care "if the local authority considers it is necessary to do so", and separately to be paid for administering the payment. Where a relative is paid for administration, the guidance says the decision should be recorded in the care plan with the amount and what it covers (paragraph 12.39).

Nothing here stops your relative paying a family member from their own money. Can my mum pay me to care for her? covers Carer's Allowance, tax, employment status and what an attorney may and may not do.

Records and unspent money

The records the council will ask for, and what happens to money left over

The council has to be satisfied that the payment is meeting the needs in the plan, so it will ask for records. The regulations limit how much it can ask for, and the guidance tells councils to keep monitoring in proportion.

A step with the councilSomething you keep up week to week

Before the first payment
The direct payment agreement
The council sends an agreement setting out what the money is for, what records it wants and how often, and what happens if the arrangement stops. Read the conditions in it. The council can require information to check the plan is being met, but it cannot ask for more than it needs, and it cannot tell your family which carer to use.
Week one
A separate account, or the card the council issues
Councils differ here. Some ask for a bank account used only for the direct payment; others issue a prepaid card they can see into. Either way, keep the money apart from your relative's own money. It makes the records simple and it protects whoever manages the account if anyone ever asks about it.
Every visit
The invoice or the payslip
A self-employed carer invoices for the hours worked, and that invoice is the spending record. An employed personal assistant gets a payslip and the payroll returns go to HMRC. Keep the paper as you go rather than assembling it the night before a review.
Every few months
The spending return
Most councils ask for bank statements, invoices and receipts on a set cycle so they can see the money went on the agreed needs. Send what is asked for and flag anything unusual at the time, a fortnight of hospital care or a carer leaving, rather than letting it turn up as a gap later.
Within six months
The first review
The regulations require a review within the first six months. The guidance says it should be light touch, checking that your family is comfortable with the arrangement rather than hunting for mistakes. Your relative, their carer and anyone managing the payment should all be part of it.
At least once a year after that
The annual review
After the first one, reviews come at least every twelve months, and sooner if the council has a reason to look. This is the moment to ask for more hours if the needs have grown, because a review can raise a personal budget as well as lower one.

The guidance says councils "should not design systems that place a disproportionate reporting burden upon the individual" (paragraph 12.24), and regulation 4(3)(b) stops a council asking for information more often or in more detail than it reasonably needs. For a self-employed carer the working set is short: the invoices, the statements showing them paid, the written agreement with the carer, and whatever evidence of self-employed status the council asked for at the start.

Unspent money. A direct payment may only be used for the needs in the plan, so money that builds up in the account stays the council's money for that purpose. There is no national figure for how much may be held. Your direct payment agreement says what the council allows as a balance and when it will ask for the rest back, so check it. Section 33(5) of the Act lets a council require repayment where a condition has been breached, and the guidance tells councils to think about recovering unspent money after a death while allowing for bills that were still owed (paragraph 12.32). If a balance is building because a carer has been away or hours were not used, tell the council at the time.

The words the letters use

Care and support plan: The written plan that says which needs the council has agreed to meet and how. A direct payment can only be spent on what is in it.
Personal budget: The weekly cost of meeting those needs, split into the part your relative pays after the financial assessment and the part the council pays.
Direct payment: The council's share of the personal budget paid to your relative, or to somebody named for them, so the family buys the care itself.
Nominated person: Somebody your relative chooses to receive and manage the payment while your relative still makes the decisions.
Authorised person: Somebody the council agrees can hold the payment where your relative lacks the mental capacity to ask for it themselves. A power of attorney is not required, though many authorised people hold one.
Personal assistant: A carer employed directly by the person receiving care, rather than working through an agency or as a self-employed carer.
Personal health budget: The NHS version, offered where the NHS is paying. It can be held as a direct payment in much the same way.

Other nations and the NHS

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and NHS personal health budgets

The Care Act 2014 applies in England only. The other nations have their own legislation, and the NHS has a separate scheme where it is paying for the care.

	The law and how it works	Worth knowing
Scotland	Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013. Section 4 sets out four options. Option 1 is a direct payment, which the Act defines as a payment enabling the person to arrange support "by any person". Option 2: you choose the support and the council arranges and pays for it. Option 3: the council chooses and arranges it. Option 4: a mix	A family member may be paid only where the family member, the person and the council all agree and one of the listed factors applies (the 2014 Direct Payments Regulations, regulation 8). Each council sets its own position on self-employed carers
Wales	Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, sections 50 to 53, and the Care and Support (Direct Payments) (Wales) Regulations 2015	A council may authorise paying a relative who lives in the same household, for care or for help managing the payment, if it considers that necessary to promote the person's well-being (regulation 6)
Northern Ireland	Direct payments come from the Health and Social Care Trust, after it has assessed the person as needing support. nidirect says each Trust implements direct payments in its own way	nidirect says you must account for the money, for example with timesheets signed by personal assistants or receipts from agencies, and that you can top the payment up yourself for a dearer service or extra hours. It does not mention self-employed carers, so ask the Trust

Scotland

The law and how it works: Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013. Section 4 sets out four options. Option 1 is a direct payment, which the Act defines as a payment enabling the person to arrange support "by any person". Option 2: you choose the support and the council arranges and pays for it. Option 3: the council chooses and arranges it. Option 4: a mix
Worth knowing: A family member may be paid only where the family member, the person and the council all agree and one of the listed factors applies (the 2014 Direct Payments Regulations, regulation 8). Each council sets its own position on self-employed carers

Wales

The law and how it works: Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, sections 50 to 53, and the Care and Support (Direct Payments) (Wales) Regulations 2015
Worth knowing: A council may authorise paying a relative who lives in the same household, for care or for help managing the payment, if it considers that necessary to promote the person's well-being (regulation 6)

Northern Ireland

The law and how it works: Direct payments come from the Health and Social Care Trust, after it has assessed the person as needing support. nidirect says each Trust implements direct payments in its own way
Worth knowing: nidirect says you must account for the money, for example with timesheets signed by personal assistants or receipts from agencies, and that you can top the payment up yourself for a dearer service or extra hours. It does not mention self-employed carers, so ask the Trust

Sources are listed below and were read on 11 November 2026. The Scottish regulations were read in the version as made.

Our guides to care funding in Scotland, care funding in Wales and care funding in Northern Ireland explain how each nation pays for care at home.

If the NHS is paying: personal health budgetsSection titled If%20the%20NHS%20is%20paying%3A%20personal%20health%20budgets

Where the NHS funds the care, the equivalent is a personal health budget. The NHS says adults receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare have a right to one, and that it can be managed as a notional budget, a third party budget or a direct payment for healthcare, where "you get the money to buy the care and support you and your NHS team agree you need" and must show what you have spent it on. Somebody can hold a council direct payment and a personal health budget together, and the Direct Payments Regulations require the council to take reasonable steps to coordinate the two (regulation 10). GOV.UK's employer rule applies here as well: paying a carer directly with NHS money makes you an employer unless the carer is self-employed or comes through an agency. Ask your integrated care board what it needs before a self-employed carer starts. Personal budgets and personal health budgets and NHS Continuing Healthcare cover both.

SourcesSection titled Sources

Every rule on this page was read from these sources on 11 November 2026.

Questions

Questions families ask about direct payments and private carers

Yes. In England a direct payment can pay a private, self-employed carer, provided the care meets the needs in the care and support plan (Care Act 2014, section 33). The carer cannot normally be a partner or close relative living in the same household, the carer has to be self-employed in fact, and your council can attach conditions and will ask for records. Read your council's policy before the carer starts. Direct payments by council.

A relative who lives at a different address can be paid. A spouse, partner or close relative living in the same household cannot be paid for care unless the council considers it necessary (Care and Support (Direct Payments) Regulations 2014, regulation 3). The same regulation lets the council allow a relative in the household to be paid for administering the payment. Can my mum pay me to care for her?

Only if the carer is your employee. GOV.UK says you are classed as an employer if you pay a carer or personal assistant directly, even with direct payment money, unless they are self-employed or paid through an agency. An employer must run payroll, hold employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million and enrol an eligible worker in a pension. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool shows which side of the line an arrangement falls. Self-employed carer or employee?

It varies by council. The items named most often in published council policies are proof that the carer is registered with HMRC as self-employed, such as a Unique Taxpayer Reference, an employment status check, insurance, a criminal record check, a written agreement for the care, and invoices. Your direct payment agreement is the list that counts, so ask the council before the carer starts.

The national rules do not mention self-employed carers. A council may attach conditions to a direct payment and may say that a particular person must not provide the care, but it may not require the care to come from any particular person, and the statutory guidance says there should be no unreasonable restriction on how the payment is used. Most councils that publish a policy allow a self-employed carer with checks. If yours says no, ask in writing which rule it relies on, then use the complaints procedure and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The statutory guidance in England recognises that a person, or somebody on their behalf, may pay extra for care of their choice that costs more than the council would pay, and says the extra is not part of the personal budget (paragraph 11.14). How that works with a direct payment is set by your council, so ask in writing first. When a carer costs more than your direct payment.

Ask for a review before paying the difference. The guidance says a direct payment must be an amount sufficient to meet the needs (paragraph 12.25) and that the budget should reflect local market conditions (paragraph 11.25). Send dated evidence of what carers near your relative charge. The council can still decline to pay more where it could achieve the same outcomes for less, but it should base the decision on outcomes and value for money. How to ask for a review.

Whatever your direct payment agreement asks for, which is usually invoices or payslips and the statements for the account or prepaid card. The regulations say a council may not ask for information more often or in more detail than it reasonably needs. The council must review the payment within the first 6 months and then at least every 12 months.

Yes, if live-in care is how the care and support plan says the needs will be met and the personal budget covers it. Live-in care is care in the person's own home, so the limit of 4 consecutive weeks in any 12 months that applies to a care home stay paid for by direct payment does not apply to it. The budget is not unlimited: a council can compare the cost with other ways of achieving the same outcomes. Live-in care on PrimeCarers starts from £1,050 a week. How live-in care is funded.

It can only be used for the needs in the plan, so it is not your relative's to keep or to spend on other things. There is no national limit on the balance. Your direct payment agreement says how much may be held and when the council will ask for the rest back. Tell the council when a balance builds up, for example after a stay in hospital.

PrimeCarers is an introductory platform, not a care agency, and is not registered with the Care Quality Commission. The carers are self-employed and contract directly with your relative. Whether a direct payment can be used this way depends on your council's conditions, so ask its direct payments team first. Visits booked on the platform are invoiced automatically and paid through the platform. What PrimeCarers costs.

Yes. It is called a personal health budget, and it can be held as a direct payment for healthcare. The NHS says adults receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare have a right to one. Personal budgets and personal health budgets.

Can I use direct payments to hire a private carer?

The rules in England, and where each one is written

The money must meet the needs in the plan

It cannot normally pay a partner or a close relative in the same house

The council may add conditions, within limits

It is reviewed, and can be stopped or reclaimed

Why the council asks for proof that the carer is self-employed

Whether a council can refuse a self-employed carer or an introductory platform

A self-employed carer, an employed personal assistant, or a regulated agency

From the assessment to the first invoice, step by step

Ask for a care needs assessment

Get the personal budget in writing

Ask for the budget as a direct payment

Tell the council you plan to use a self-employed carer

Choose the carer and settle their status

Pay from the direct payment and keep every invoice

If the carer charges more than the payment covers

When a direct payment can pay somebody in the family

A relative who lives somewhere else

A partner, or a relative in the same house

The case councils do agree to

Being paid to run the payment itself

The records the council will ask for, and what happens to money left over

The direct payment agreement

A separate account, or the card the council issues

The invoice or the payslip

The spending return

The first review

The annual review

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and NHS personal health budgets

If the NHS is paying: personal health budgetsSection titled If%20the%20NHS%20is%20paying%3A%20personal%20health%20budgets

SourcesSection titled Sources

Questions families ask about direct payments and private carers

Guidance for your next decision